Whispers in the Dark
by WalkingPotterGirl14
Summary: She was as silent as the day outside. It seemed even the birds stopped chirping when he came across the scarred girl. But when the real enemy is around the corner, and their new lives are at stake, Daryl must use his last bit of trust in humanity to protect this sweet stranger, even if it messes with his head along the way. (Rated T for language, M in later chapters) (Slow burn)
1. A New Face

He didn't know how to get through these days.

Daryl had seen a lot in his days now. This whole entire world was full of bullshit that he was constantly facing. Ever since Rick disappeared (he still refused to say died even though it was likely), everything seemed to just get harder. And it was times like this where he wished he still lived out in the woods.

He shouldn't, really. When Carol found him in the woods that one day, he had no clue it would lead to a possible war. To the tragedy that woman experienced. To the horrors he would see. To him basically babysitting a teenager.

He shouldn't say that. Lydia was more than just some annoying teenager. She had grown up in this world and understood how it worked. Yes, she was definitely hardheaded sometimes, but she was trying to prove herself to him, and that's what mattered.

Now, all they were trying to do was save themselves. With Alpha taking more of their land after they crossed over for their own damn lives, hunting had been getting low. Carol had complained and been angry about them not going to war with them, but Daryl knew that if they even wanted to think about going against them, they would have to think strategically.

It was more than just guns and ammo. It was mental. Emotional. Physical. Daryl couldn't let them take another home away from them. They had been there for so long and if they took it away…he would fucking lose his mind. Not because anything there really made it home for him, but for the sanity of Michonne, and her family.

No, he hadn't experienced home in a long time. Honestly, he didn't think he would ever feel 'at home' in any of these safe zones. Truth be told, he only stayed for a couple of the people. For Carol's sake, for the kids so he could keep them safe, and for Lydia because if she didn't have someone on her side, who knows what some of these people might do to her.

"Daryl."

His head snaps up to see Aaron nodding at him, walking over. "What's up?" he mutters, trying to clear his head. Ever since Alpha had taken land he'd been in his head more and more, which really spelt trouble.

"The guys saw a house not that far up ahead, looked pretty untouched. You wanna check it out?" Daryl nods and follows after the man. Aaron himself had been going through it lately.

Daryl had to give it up to the man – he had really taken on a real role in keeping people safe, despite even losing his arm. He was one of the people who knew that they needed to play this strategically and not just attack. And he was also one of the ones that constantly put his life on the line. Out of everyone that's stayed alive all these years, Daryl was glad Aaron was one of the few who still remained.

"You feeling alright?" Aaron asks him lowly.

Daryl sighs and bites the tip of his thumbnail. "I'm doin' alright…just tryin' get through all this shit. Hope we can find some canned food or some shit in here."

Aaron nods. "Me too." He glances over at the hunter. "You think that will get through all this shit here?"

Daryl slowly nods. "Eventually. Ain't gonna be anytime soon, but this group been through too much shit to get taken out now." He looks over at Aaron once more. "We just gotta keep our shit together and we'll get through it."

Daryl heads into the house, seeing some of the people looking through the cabinets and the couches. He turns to Aaron.

"I'm gonna head upstairs, see if there's anythin' up there." Aaron nods and walks into the kitchen, going to look as well. Daryl heads up the stairs, each one creaking with the steps he took, sounding almost more like one of those cliché haunted houses that people would decorate during Halloween. Eventually, he arrives at the very top, glancing at the torn down walls covered in moss and what looked like very old blood stains.

He walked past a couple of bedrooms, glancing inside to see if there was anything. Couple dead bodies, but other than that, nothing that wasn't covered in shit that he could take back. When he reaches the last room, the stench is overwhelming.

Something had definitely died recently in here.

He walks in, trying to avoid the smell. Something he had realized throughout the years is that only the most recent dead smell. The ones that had been dead for years, like the bodies from before, didn't smell for shit. They were basically all dirt and blood on the ground. But the new ones? That shit smelled nasty as fuck.

He tries to find the source, and then his eyes spot a trail of blood leading into the bathroom behind him, one that was attached to the bedroom. He opens it and then instantly recoils at the sight.

There was a man, stabbed out to shit on his chest, and then once in his head. He had maggots all over his body and flies everywhere, but he was dead for sure. Not even a walker. Whoever had done this had a vendetta and wanted this dude gone.

"Jesus," he mutters, crouching down and looking at the damage. His eyes scan over the floor before something stops him. A mask lay on the floor in the far corner. Daryl reaches over and picks it up, and instantly felt goose bumps trail the back of his neck.

This had been a Whisperer.

"Fuck," he mutters, pushing the mask into his back pocket. If they were caught here, they would get blamed for this, and he couldn't have that shit.

He quickly stands up and looks outside, making sure there were no walkers close by, before taking a deep breath. They needed to get out.

He scans the room again, trying to find something, before moving over to the closet in the far right. When he tried to open it though, he saw it was locked. His brow furrows.

How the fuck can a closet lock?

He tries to shake it open, but doesn't get anything. Losing patience, he uses his leg to kick the door open, and then as soon as it flies close to off the hinges, he hears something back up into closet and shout. Daryl jumps up in surprise, seeing just a sharp object being pointed at him.

"Whoa, calm down," Daryl instantly says, not moving. "It's alright…I didn't know someone was in here."

The person doesn't respond. He couldn't even see whoever it was. He gently pulls out his lighter and lights up the darkness of the closet. As soon as he sees whoever it was pointing something sharp at him, he felt his guard drop a little.

It looked to be a young woman, but she was completely and utterly covered in muck, dirt, and grime. Her hair was so dirty he couldn't tell what color it was. She had marks and scratches across her face, and dried blood on her clothes. What stood out to him though was the large gash that was across her stomach that she was holding. Blood had soaked her fingers before. She was hurt. Badly.

"Yer hurt real bad," he says softly, his eyes not straying from her other hand. He realized it was a piece of glass, and he glances over at the broken mirror in the corner, the parts of the room starting to make sense. He turns back to her. "Ya kill that Whisperer over there?"

She doesn't respond, and doesn't lower her shard, her hand shaking.

"We aint' a part of 'em," he whispers to her. "We hate 'em too. If that was ya, ya have to tell me."

She doesn't speak, but then slowly nods.

"He do that gash to ya?"

She slowly nods her head again. The shard lowers just a little.

Daryl's eyes glance to her gash, and then back to her scared eyes. "Ma name's Daryl. What's yer name?"

She instantly shakes her head, shrinking back further into the closet. Daryl extends his hands out in defense, trying to calm her down.

"Alright, ya don't have to say yer name," he says instantly. "But I gotta call ya somethin' so I ain't talkin' to a brick wall."

The girl doesn't respond.

Daryl glances at her and sighs. "Alright, listen here." He nods towards the stairs. "I got a group of people downstairs. They're good people. They ain't gonna hurt ya. I can tell ya ain't a part of that group cause ya killed the fuck outta that Whisperer, and yer hurt real bad. If ya stay here, without gettin' help, yer gonna die and be just as dead as that guy. So ya can come back with me and get healed, or ya can stay here and die, or get found by them Whisperers. We can help ya."

She looks at him, holding her side, shard still held tightly in her hands. Her eyes glance at him, and then outside, and then at him again. She swallows and then finally, finally, lowers her shard.

"Yer gonna come?" he asks her quietly.

She nods, he lets out a sigh of relief. He hadn't been worried about her hurting him – she was definitely less than half his size and wouldn't hold a fight against him – but he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he left this poor girl hurt all alone with the fucking Whisperers after her.

'Pussy,' Merle's voice mutters in his head. Daryl shakes it away.

"Do ya need help gettin' up?" She looks at him quietly before nodding. Daryl reaches out his hand and helps her stand, looking down at her dirt-covered form. She needed a shower, badly. "Come on…let's get ya outta here."

She nods softly, leaning into him as he helped her out of the room, her hand grabbing her injured side.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Leave a review to let me know what you think and don't forget to follow or favorite. This is my first piece in a while but I wanted to write a little for the new season. Thanks again :)


	2. An Angel

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_Ya'll are awesome. I hope you guys enjoy chapter 2 :)_

* * *

When Daryl had brought the girl downstairs, he knew some people wouldn't be okay with it. Aaron had been fine with bringing her back as long as she didn't make noise, but some of the group was upset they were bringing back another person closely related to another Whisperer.

Daryl simply ignored them and helped her in, knowing that at least she would be healed before they possibly kicked her out.

When they arrived back at Alexandria, he saw Beth come out of the hospital wing. Oh Beth. The poor woman had been fucking going through it the past week. With how many walker waves they experienced, she had been forced to treat more people than she had in weeks.

She often complained to him how the scar on the back of her head from the gunshot wound ages ago would hurt whenever she was under these stressful situations, sort of like 'Harry Potter,' or whatever she had seen when she was younger. He had never seen the movies or read the books. But it was what she referred to all the time. And now she was going to be hurting with this girl.

"Daryl," she starts quietly, looking at the girl as he helped her out of their carriage. "Who is she? Does Michonne know about this?"

"No," Daryl instantly states, glancing around. He could see some people looking at the girl, confused. "Look…I found 'er all alone. She's hurt real bad. She killed one of 'em Whisperers recently. I couldn't let her get killed when we're against those fuckers too."

Beth sighs and shakes her head. "I just hope you didn't just dig a grave for yourself…you know how Michonne is with strangers, especially now." She turns to the young woman and smiles softly at her. "I'm Beth. What's your name?"

Before the girl could freak out again, Daryl steps in. "She ain't sayin' her name. She hasn't talked."

Beth nods quietly before turning back to her. "Understandable. You don't wanna trust people too quickly these days, right?" The girl slowly nods. "Well, you don't have to talk to me. I talk pretty much by myself all the time now. I'll do all the talking for you. May I see your wound?"

Daryl nods at the girl, stepping back. She gently lifts up her shirt and Beth gets on her knees, examining it. She takes a moment, touching it gently and feeling the girl cringe, before nodding and standing up.

"Alright, missy. You're going to have a bad time with this. I'm just putting that out there right now."

The girls eyes widen. Daryl tries to calm the situation, as he was used to recently. "What do ya mean, Beth?"

She sighs. "Here. Come to the infirmary." The girl looks over at Daryl, as if looking for approval. He nods gently, letting her know that it was okay to follow Beth.

The young girl walks after the blonde, looking around the town wildly before walking into the infirmary. Beth closes the door behind them before heading over to the beds, helping the girl onto one of them. Beth stands across from her, with Daryl standing near the window, watching quietly.

"The first thing we're going to have to do is wash you. Now, since you can barely walk by yourself, I highly doubt you're going to be able to get all the dirt and grime and blood off of you. Daryl won't be here, if that's what you're worried about." Daryl rolls his eyes. Of course he wouldn't be. "But we need to get your squeaky clean before we can even think of addressing the wound. And that, in of itself, might be painful, because we need to wash out the wound as well. After that, we're going to have to disinfect it, because something is starting to fester there, and the last thing ya want is to die from infection. From there, we're going to have to stitch it up, and I'm all out of anti-pain meds for stitching, so you're going to have to bite down on soemthin' if it hurts a lot. After that, you should be fine, but we should keep you in the infirmary to have some fluids, get some blood back, and make sure you're stable. I know that sounds like a lot of information, but due to the severity of the gash, we need to take all the precaution we can. Are you okay with this?"

The girl doesn't respond, simply stares down at the gash. Daryl walks over to her. "Ya can trust Beth. She only wants to help ya."

She looks over at Daryl, who was trying to portray the truth in his eyes. He knew exactly what this girl was going through. The fear that she felt. And the last thing he wanted was for her to keep experiencing it while one of the sweetest people he knew was trying to help her. The girl looks over at Beth, before gently nodding.

Beth smiles. "Good. Don't worry. I'm going to make sure you're taken care of, and it'll only be me. I won't hurt you." The girl nods again as Beth helps her stand. Beth looks over to Daryl and gives him a disapproving stare. "Now get out. She's gotta get undressed."

Daryl raises his hands in defense again. "Alright, jeez." He heads out, but not before throwing a glance at the girl again, who was listening intently to Beth. He heads outside, closing the door behind him.

He knew she would be alright.

Hours passed before he was able to talk to anyone. The first person that had approached him was Lydia, who had asked him if it was true he brought back another person related to the Whisperers. When he said yes, she was shocked.

"Why?" he had asked.

"I just didn't think you'd want to bring back anyone closely related to them. It was my bad."

She headed off to training lessons after that, leaving him in silence for a little bit. And then, he instantly gets Michonne on his ass, asking him why the fuck he brought back another person. After a heated conversation for a too long time, they decided they would vote on the matter later on in the week when the girl wasn't near death's door. By the time she left, Daryl was already fucking irritated as fuck, and the last thing he needed was another damn person coming up to him. But that was when Beth came out.

"Daryl-"

"What?" he snaps.

She places her hands on her hips. "Don't you dare talk to me like that, Dixon."

He could tell from her tone she was pissed. He sighs. "I'm sorry…people have been up my ass all day."

She rolls her eyes. "You shoulda expected that with bringin' someone back here. She's healing in bed now. Do you wanna see her?" Daryl nods and walks inside, closing the door behind her. Beth guides him to a private room, closing the door. He could hear something coming from the TV they had for the patients here, and he glances over to see an old movie playing.

His eyes then move to the person in the bed. His brow furrows. "Where is she?"

Beth snorts. "That's her."

His eyes widen as he walks closer to the girl. He felt himself still at seeing her.

Daryl wasn't a sexual man. He hadn't thought of any woman as beautiful or pretty in years. There just wasn't enough time in the world for him to give a shit about something so minor that he didn't need to live with in this world.

But this girl was fucking stunning.

He had no idea what she had looked like from the muck and grime she had on her body before. Honestly, she had been completely covered from head to toe and looked like she had just stepped out of the black lagoon. But now that she was clean…she was completely different.

Her skin was pale but had color around her cheeks, rosy red. There were freckles that lined across her nose that seemed to travel a little down to her neck, and probably down her back. But what stood out to him was her hair. It was platinum blonde, almost white. It was blonder than Beth's. And it was long and wavy and fell right past the middle of her back.

Her body was covered by the blanket, but he could tell that now that she was in different clothes that fit her, her body was small but fit. She had probably lived in the wild for a long time now, and was very prone to surviving off the land. This was probably the first bed she had in a long time.

"Wow," Daryl states, shocked. "She…I…"

Beth's brow raises. "Is Daryl...speechless?"

He instantly shakes his head and glares down at her. "Shut up. Anyone would be shocked by how she looks. She looked like a fucking swamp creature before."

Beth snorts and nods. "Fair play." She walks over to the sleeping girl, adjusting her vials. "I cleaned her up and washed her down, before stitching her and cleaning her wound. She didn't show that much pain, only when I was stitching. It was kind of unnerving, a little…I think she's used to the pain at this point, which really makes me even more curious about her. Once I hooked her up to some fluids and some blood, I got a movie going for her. She passed out a little bit after."

"She gonna be alright?" Daryl asks quietly, looking over at the girl.

"She'll be fine after some rest. She lost a lot of blood – honestly, I don't even know how she's alive. It was a miracle you found her in time for me to help her. Truly." Beth looks over at the sleeping girl before chuckling. "With the way she looks, she must be an angel to survive this long."

"Angel," Daryl mumbles, looking over at the girl. She was sleeping peacefully.

Beth looks over at him before glancing outside. "So what did Michonne say about her? What do they want to do?"

Daryl sighs before looking over at his friend. "She's gonna hold a vote with the community, see if they want her to stay. She's fucking hurt. I don't wanna send a hurt girl all the way back out into the world…'specially one that looks like her."

"What, you think she's pretty?" Daryl throws her a look and Beth chuckles. "I know she is and I understand. I just didn't think you of all people would notice."

"I ain't blind."

"You act like it half the time with some of the women here."

"What ya mean?"

Beth laughs. "Nothing, Daryl." She sits next to him and looks over at the girl. "If it helps, I'll vote to keep her here." Daryl's brow raises at her. "Why are you surprised?"

"I thought ya hated them too?"

"I do…but you're right. I don't wanna send her out there again hurt like that." She looks back at the girl. "'Sides, she seems sweet, despite not talking."

Daryl sighs before looking outside. "I'm more afraid what Carol's gonna think."

Beth turns her gaze back to the hunter, before squeezing his shoulder. "Carol trusts your judgment. If you think the girl is safe here and of no threat, she'll agree with you."

"I hope so too…I just wish I could help her. She's hurting, Beth. She goes out every damn night lookin' for them," he said pained. Beth gave him a sad smile as they looked over at the young woman who was fast asleep.

"She gave me this after she took off her jeans. She really didn't want the photo ruined or damaged in any way. It means a lot to her," Beth said softly, giving Daryl the photo. He looked at it intently.

The young woman was in the photo with two men, probably her brothers and what looked like her best friend. They all looked happy. Daryl flipped it over to see if there was any writing on the back.

'Will, James, Tammy and Me - July 20, 2010.'

Assuming from how they were written, the eldest brother, Will, had dark blonde, almost brown hair with dark hazel eyes, and his younger brother had dark brown hair and grey eyes. The woman in the middle looked exactly like the woman Daryl had found, and the woman next to her had dirty blonde hair with kind green eyes.

They all looked really happy. This must have been taken before the world had gone to shit. He showed it to Beth, who smiled sadly at the photo.

"Maybe we can ask her what happened to them when she wakes up. Did you see any bodies resembling them?" Beth asked cautiously. He shook his head grimly.

"No, but maybe a herd split them up, or they were ambushed by the Whisperers. Knowing that crazy bitch, she might have thought they were on her part of the border," Daryl said grimly. Beth nodded in acceptance and went to check on the young woman.

She was fast asleep still, an IV hooked into her left arm. He could see a faded scar on her chest. It looked like a burn scar that she had gotten as a child.

All they could do now was wait for her to wake up.

"There's something else, Daryl. She's partially deaf in both ears, so she might respond well to sign language. Looks like your lessons will come in handy," Beth suggested softly. Daryl nodded and sat in the chair by her bed.

She looked young, maybe a few years older than Beth.

* * *

That's right, Beth's alive. I ain't having her die in my stories, no siree.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to drop a review and you'll get all my love, along with following and favoriting. Thank you! :)


	3. Friends or Foes?

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* * *

The young woman woke up to the sound of children outside the house that she was staying in. She looked around to see that she was wearing fresh clothes, and she wasn't filthy anymore.

It hadn't been a dream. That man and the young woman had actually looked after her and hadn't expected anything in return. It made her relax slightly. Only slightly though. Maybe these people weren't like the Whisperers.

Maybe.

She then saw the photo on the bedside table and looked at it sadly, her fingers tracing the faces of her two brothers and best friend. It hurt not knowing where they were, but a part of her knew they were still alive.

Will had been in the army and had been a sergeant. She missed her oldest brother badly, not to mention James and Tammy, her best friend. She hadn't found their heads on spikes, so they were safe…but for how long?

"Please god, I don't know if you care but please keep my brothers and best friend safe. Please," she whispered tearfully, her voice hoarse from not speaking for so long. She wiped a few stray tears from her face but still cried.

The door opened, revealing the man who had helped her yesterday - the one who had been kind to her. She nodded at him as he sat down in the chair, and gave her a notepad to write on with a pen.

She gave him a grateful smile. She still didn't feel quite safe to speak or talk after encountering the Whisperers. They terrified the living hell out of her, one specifically.

"I know ya goin' deaf in yer left ear, so ya can write in that notepad to talk to me or Beth. Alright?" he asked quietly. She nodded and waited for him to ask his questions.

"I understand," she wrote honestly. He nodded as he began asking her questions about her life, and how she had crossed paths with the Whisperers.

"How did ya get involved with the Whisperers?" he asked. She shuddered at the mention of the group who gave her nightmares since encountering them.

"We unknowingly crossed their border, a year ago. There was me, Will and James, who are my brothers, Tammy my best friend, Andy who is her younger brother and Scarlet - she was Will's friend from the army. They just came out of nowhere. They took me away but I escaped twice before the tall Whisperer...he hurt me really bad and said if I spoke, then he'd know where I was and he'd kill my brothers, my best friend and Scarlet," she wrote on the piece of paper, feeling more tears swim down her face.

Daryl felt his stomach sink at the distress she was in. The Whisperers had done a number on her both psychologically and emotionally.

"I know we had issues before, but I still wanna know: what's yer name?" he asked gently. She sniffled and hastily wrote down her name for him to read.

"Isabelle Doyle."

He knew right then she wasn't a spy for the Whisperers, but a victim just like Lydia.

"Ya mind if I take the photo, just to show my group if we find yer brothers, and best friend?" he asked gently. Isabelle nodded and trustfully gave him the photo.

It was worn with age but cared for. He nodded at her.

"I'll look after it. I promise. And I'll give it back to yer as soon as I'm done," he promised. She nodded silently as she watched him leave before she tried to sleep again. Maybe she'd be safe here for the time being. Maybe.

Only time could tell.

_**~%~**_

Daryl wasn't surprised to see the schoolroom was swarming with people. He looked for Lydia and found her sitting next to Carol, Beth, Gracie, Aaron, and Judith.

"Is that girl with the Whisperers, Daryl?!" Alden asked angrily, causing some of the people who had been Highwaymen to shout and call Isabelle horrible names.

"She ain't one of them," he instantly states, trying to get the attention of everyone in the room. "She was their prisoner. She said that a tall Whisperer kept her as his personal slave, and told her that if she tried to run away or said her brothers and best friend's names, then they would kill them. Said that if she ever spoke, he'd know where to find her. She ain't spoken in God knows how long," Daryl said grimly, and held up the photo that Isabelle had given him.

Beth stood up then. Her expression was calm, but everyone could see the determination in her eyes.

"I examined her last night. When I was stitching up her stab wound, I gave her an exam of everything. She's been a victim of repeated sexual assault, and there are faded scars on her arms and back. She also has bruises on her throat, like she's been strangled…some of which look like permanent marks and some recent," she said grimly. Daryl looks over at Lydia.

"Does she let the men do that to women?" he asked quietly. Lydia nodded silently and spoke up.

"She lets the men do whatever they want to the women…says that it's nature. So she lets the men rape the women and gets angry if someone tries to stop them," Lydia remarks. Daryl could see her eyes look to the ground, and knew her mind was back in that camp right now. The abuse she had gone through was real.

A horrified silence, with no one being able to speak. Finally, Margo spoke up after some time.

"Even if she's fucking hurt, there's no reason to keep her here unless she can help us. Can she tell us where their camp is so we can kill these bastards? Or is she covering for them?" Margo asked annoyed. A few people glared at her.

"She's scared and broke down crying. She wants to find her brothers and best friend, but she ain't in any condition to fight," Daryl said firmly, standing his ground.

Beth stood up then, looking at them. "She has three broken ribs and a recovering dislocated right shoulder. She can't go anywhere for a while."

Margo stands as well. "But there's no point in keeping her here then. We need to think about the rest of our lives here. There are people out there watching us and we openly have someone in here that they hate? That's so fucking stupid!"

"She ain't going!" Daryl suddenly snaps.

Everyone turns to look at him, clearly shaken by him speaking that way. He glares at the ones that do, before turning his attention to Michonne. She had been silent this whole time, but Daryl knew that she was quietly watching everyone's reactions to this situation.

"I know ya don't want people here, Michonne," he says quietly, trying to calm the anger that he buried itself deep inside of him. "But this girl has been through all hell. Ya can think she's a traitor or whatever, but she can barely even walk right now. She aint a threat. And I can't feel right knowing that people would willingly throw her back out into the wild despite her being hurt. That ain't good shit at all. She needs to stay, if not just to fuckin' heal. She misses her family. She's delirious. Just think what ya would be like in this situation, Michonne. If Judith suddenly disappeared."

Judith glances over from where she sat before looking over at Michonne. Daryl had clearly hit a sensitive spot. "I think Uncle Daryl is right," she admits softly. "I think we should give her a chance."

Michonne sighs before standing, looking at everyone, and then turning her eyes right back to Daryl. "I know that we aren't willing to let many people into our borders anymore, and especially not now with everything that has been going on with our lands. Our people. Daryl…you have a point. I don't feel comfortable throwing out a girl back into the world when she's clearly hurt. But here's the thing. She's not just a girl. She's a close tie to the Whisperers. We are already at risk having Lydia here. What makes you think having this girl here is going to make it any different?"

"Then she'll be my responsibility," Daryl states, gesturing outside. "I brought her back. I'll keep 'er here. But ya can't just throw her out. I ain't goin' to let ya do that."

Michonne stares him down before taking a deep breath. Hesitantly, she turns back to Judith, offers her child a small smile, before her lips return to a serious expression to address the schoolhouse.

"I know we are all scared about what is happening…but for the time being, I will allow the girl to stay and recover." Instantly, cries of protest and anger emerged from the group. "IF." They all quiet down at her loud anger. Michonne looks around. "If she proves to be nothing but a burden, she will leave. If she can prove herself once she is healed, she will stay. How does that happen? That's up to you, Daryl."

He nods quietly, watching as people started to disperse. He noticed as he was standing there that Carol hadn't come, and a part of him felt upset about it. At the same time, she was going through shit that he didn't even understand, so she had all the right to stay away.

Beth squeezes Daryl's shoulder. "You're doing the right thing, Daryl. Trust me."

He sighs. "I hope yer right."

_**~%~**_

Hours passed before Isabelle heard any movement in the house. She had been watching another old movie when the door to her room opened. She expected to see Beth or Daryl come in, but instead saw a young teenager, carrying what looked like a bowl of soup.

Instantly, her eyes recognized her.

"Lydia," she croaks.

The girl sighs. "I was scared you'd remember me." She places the bowl on the nightstand of the bed, sitting next to her. "Daryl told me to bring up some food for you; didn't expect to see you awake."

Isabelle nods slowly, looking over at the soup. She takes it with shaky hands and sips at the spoon, her eyes turning back to the young girl.

"I know you might have some judgments about me…to be honest, there were so many followers for my mother that I didn't even know you and your family had been involved at any point. But I want you to know I'm not like them…and I'm not with them anymore. They've been keeping me safe here. Daryl has. And maybe they'll keep you safe too."

Isabelle places her bowl down and grabs a pad, writing quickly. "Have they treated you well?"

Lydia reads the note quietly before biting her lower lip. "Some do. Most don't. You might get some of that too." Isabelle throws her a sad look, glancing at the ground. "But hey, as long as they don't see you frown, you'll be fine. Just…ignore them, I guess. That's what Daryl's told me to do."

Isabelle starts to write again. "Is Daryl nice?"

Lydia smiles at the note. "Daryl is pretty cool. Beth is too. A lot of people here are, they're just…worried. A lot of stuff is happening and people want to be prepared."

Isabelle nods softly, glancing outside. She sees some children playing in the dark before going inside. She turns back to Lydia and writes again. "It's so nice here…I wish the world was like this still."

Lydia grimaces. "I don't even remember a world like this."

"I'm sorry," Isabelle writes.

Lydia shakes her head. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Don't worry."

At that moment, the door opens and Daryl walks in. Isabelle offers a kind smile to him, to which he returns it by sitting down next to her and sighing. "Look, lot of these people aren't happy yer here, but I'm gonna try my fuckin' hardest to make sure they don't hurt ya, okay?"

She nods quietly, feeling her hopes sink at his words. At least he was being honest with her, but that didn't make her feel less shitty. Why were so many people against her? What did she do?

"Are they outside right now?" Lydia asks him. Daryl nods. She sighs and shakes her head. Before Isabelle could write, there was something suddenly thrown into the window, breaking the glass. Daryl jumps up and Lydia shouts, while Isabelle backs away into the wall, holding herself as it lands on the covers.

She read only one thing.

'Silence the Whisperers,' on red brick, covered in what looked like walker blood.

Daryl walks over to the window, fuming. "Get the fuck outta here!" he snaps, yelling at the people down below who had thrown it. At a further inspection, he could see it was Gage who had done it and was glaring at the archer before disappearing into the dark. "Fucking assholes," he growls before turning back to Isabelle.

At seeing her reaction, he instantly walks over and rubs her shoulder. She was shaking and crying.

"Hey, it's alright," he says quietly. "It's okay. They ain't gonna hurt ya."

Isabelle swallows, not responding. Lydia looks over at Daryl before nodding at him. "How about I stay with her for the night? Make her feel a little better?"

Daryl looks over at Isabelle. "Ya want that?" Isabelle slowly nods, letting out a deep breath. He nods. "Alright, Lydia…keep her okay. Have her watch a movie."

Lydia nods as Daryl leaves, putting the TV back on. Anyone else would think that maybe putting the two Whisperer girls together might be bad, but if anyone understood the girl's PTSD, Lydia would. It was better for her to calm her down for now.

* * *

_I really wanted to do a Lydia/OC friendship because I feel like people never do it, so here we go with that haha_

_Hope you guys enjoyed and don't forget to follow, favorite, or leave a review to let me know what you think. They always make me wanna keep writing, and I'm really enjoying how this is going so far!_

_Also, to answer one of my reviewers, KH4EVR, questions: I do have an idea of a plot, but I am **always **opened to ideas. They fuel my brain haha. _

_Have a good day, love you all :)_


	4. Memories

_Thank you guys so much for the follows, favorites and reviews. Thank you to:_

_DarylDixon'sLover_

_APanting_

_KH4EVR_

_Guest_

_Your reviews inspire me to keep going. Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

The next morning, Daryl comes back to the infirmary to find Beth getting someone to replace the window. "I can't believe someone would throw something into the damn window to try and hurt her. She's not even a Whisperer. Fucking hell."

"She doing okay?" he asks.

"Haven't checked on her since last night, but I'm assuming Lydia has been keeping her company." The two of them walk up the stairs and head into the room. Beth knocks first and Lydia yells 'come in!' They follow the sound and walk into the room.

On the bed, Lydia sat with Isabelle, who seemed to be drawing something sitting on the windowsill. It was…Judith.

She looks up in surprise and sighs. "Please don't tell my mom I'm here. I wanted to see her."

Daryl rolls his eyes and nods his head. "Don't worry. I won't tell her if you don't." Judith smiles and nods as Daryl sits down next to Isabelle. "How ya feeling, Isabelle?" he asks softly.

Isabelle smiled wryly at him, as she started writing on her notepad carefully. He could see that she was really concentrating. She smiled slightly and passed him the piece of paper.

"Better, thank you. I slept well. Judith and Lydia have been very kind to me," she wrote quickly. Daryl smiled as he sat down in a chair next to the bed that she sat on. Judith spoke up.

"How many brothers do you have, Isabelle?" Judith asked curiously. The young girl only had Carl and RJ, but her memories of Carl were foggy. She knew Beth and Maggie were sisters, and Daryl had an older brother called Merle that had died at the prison.

"Two brothers, Will and James. Will and I call James 'Jem' as a nickname. Will served in the Delta Force. He was a sniper. James was in the EOD Unit," she wrote carefully, a fond expression crossing her face as she spoke of her loved ones.

Daryl hoped for her sake that her brothers and friend were alive. He didn't wanna think about the alternative if they found their heads on pikes.

"We'll help you find them. Aaron photocopied the photo of your brothers and best friend. He's passing them out to Oceanside and Hilltop so they can recognize them if they see them," Judith said helpfully. Isabelle looked reassured at hearing that when they heard someone knocking on the door.

"Daryl, Beth, it's me," Carol called out quietly. Daryl walked over to the door and opened the door. He saw Carol waiting to be let inside the infirmary.

He wordlessly let her into the infirmary, watching her facial expression as she spotted Isabelle who was writing down what weapons that she was able to use. She could use a bow, but not at the moment seeing as her right shoulder was healing from being dislocated.

She was good with a knife though, and knew how to use a gun seeing as both of her brothers had been in the army. He didn't ask about her parents, but she tensed up any time the word mom was mentioned in a conversation.

"Carol, this is Isabelle, the person we were all talkin' 'bout in the schoolhouse yesterday," Daryl states quietly. "She, uh…has had some run-ins with the Whisperers, too."

Carol nods and walks over to Isabelle, who was silent. "She doesn't speak?" Carol asks Daryl. He shakes his head. "Not able to?"

"I mean, I ain't heard her talk, but it's got somethin' to do with all of 'em fuckers. They fucked her up and she ain't been speaking for a while because of it."

Carol turns back to her and nods. "Well, you're gonna be safe here at least for the time being."

Isabelle manages a quiet smile before turning to Beth. "I think we can take the IV out now, but that shoulder needs at least a couple of days to recover. How long was it like that, Isabelle?" Beth asked gently, as she helped Isabelle hold out her arm.

"Three weeks. Tall Whisperer and Alpha said I needed to be punished after I wouldn't tell them about my brothers and best friend. Alpha said I was weak for being attached…so she told Tall Whisperer to dislocate my right shoulder. He nearly broke it," she wrote down silently, her right arm wrapped in a comfortable sling.

Beth gave her a sad smile, letting her know that she understood and didn't think she was weak.

"We're gonna help ya look for yer brothers and friend. Just gotta be careful that we don't cross that border," Daryl said reassuringly. Isabelle smiled at him gratefully.

_**~%~**_

More walkers had started coming towards Hilltop in the next three days, so Daryl and Lydia had gone to help them. Michonne was coming, and so was Gage and Alden, despite some of them not being the hugest fan of Daryl at the moment.

Carol was coming to help, and so was Isabelle, who had healed up a little and traveled with Beth. Daryl had told Isabelle what Michonne said about pulling her weight, and had taken it to heart. Since she couldn't use her bow fully until her shoulder was better, she was carrying three knives in three holsters on her jeans, and a pistol.

Daryl noticed Carol glancing at Lydia and Isabelle thoughtfully as they saw seven walkers up ahead. "She seems nice," Carol states to him quietly. "I just hope she doesn't pull Whisperers to us again."

"I don't even think they know she's alive," Daryl mutters. "She escaped from them...for all they know, they think she's dead."

"Guess we'll just wait and see," Carol responds, looking ahead as they watched wearily, in case any of the walkers were Whisperers.

Daryl fired his crossbow at one of them in the leg, leading the walker - or the woman behind the mask - to shriek in pain, causing two of the walkers to starting closing in on her and devouring her.

The five others pulled out their knives. Lydia took out one with her staff, having added a nunchuck to the top of it. She swung it, and hit the Whisperer in the face, knocking him out. All of them were careful not to kill them, but knock them out, so they could question them on why they were on their side of the border.

"Do ya know any of them?" Daryl asked wearily. Lydia and Isabelle nodded grimly. They saw Carol walking up ahead and looking at a dead Walker.

"This is the Whisperer that tried to kill me with that herd of walkers at the school, Michonne. I'm not the crazy one, here!" Carol said angrily, causing everyone to cringe at the tension between her and Michonne.

Daryl wasn't stupid. He knew Carol was desperate to get revenge on Alpha for killing Henry, by any means. Even if that meant starting a war with her, by crossing the border.

"Carol's right, Michonne. We can't just sit around waiting for the freaks to attack us by sending hoards of walkers," Alden argued firmly, causing Daryl to sigh.

"Have you forgotten about the kids in Alexandria, Oceanside, and the Hilltop? My mom isn't a good person. Do you want to see your home destroyed because you just want to pick a fight?" Lydia asked frustrated, standing up for Daryl and Michonne.

"No one asked you, freak! It's your fault that our friends and family are dead!" Gage shouted enraged, causing walkers to stumble in their direction.

Dog barked warningly and Isabelle put herself in front of the dog, not wanting him to be hurt or worse. She pulled out her Bowie knife, stabbing the walker nearest to her. It fell into the grass with a sickening thud.

"We gotta go, now," Carol insisted firmly, glaring at Gage for putting them in a dangerous piston. All of them barely escaped. Lydia grabbed the knives from the dead Whisperers and Isabelle grabbed the masks, before they reached the horses and rode away.

_**~%~**_

By the time the group had reached Hilltop, it was dark and lanterns had been lit up. Magna waved at them and smiled kindly at Lydia and Isabelle, who smiled back as they walked into the mansion. Daryl saw Eugene frown at seeing Lydia and Isabelle come with them.

"What are they doing here, Daryl?" he asked suspiciously, causing everyone, including a disapproving Rosita to glare at him. Daryl had noticed that things were strained between them, and Eugene had started spending more time on his own.

"The others are worn out from taking out the herd of walkers, so Lydia and Isabelle volunteered to help us. Do any of ya have a problem with that?" he asked calmly, but there was a hint of warning in his tone.

Isabelle had heard Will and James talk like that at the start of the outbreak when the New York Safe Zone had fallen. Will and James had gotten her, Tammy and Andy, Scarlet and themselves out of there.

_26 July 2010_

_Isabelle had known something was wrong when a voice on the speakers told everyone to remain calm and stay indoors. She glanced at Tammy who looked just as worried, while Andy stared apathetically at the window. Gunshots echoed from outside in the streets._

_The front door of the apartment was yanked open, causing her and Tammy to aim their guns at the door. It was only James, and Will was helping Scarlet get down._

_"What the hell is going on out there? Why are the soldiers shooting people, Will?" she asked worriedly, trying to keep calm. Will was covering the windows and looked at her._

_"Izzy and Tamm…your dad, Tammy, he went to the infirmary to see your mom but...she bit him and then he bit a soldier and then everything went to shit," he whispers, as Tammy wiped tears from her cheeks. "The army's been ordered to shoot everyone indiscriminately, to ensure no one becomes a walker. So we gotta get the hell out of here," he said urgently. He'd changed out of his military combats, and into a pair of jeans, a grey t-shirt and a checked shirt but he had his sniper rifle._

_James had changed as well. Ghost was sitting by the door growling, and that was when they heard screams outside among the shooting._

_Tammy wiped her eyes quickly and nodded at Isabelle as they started to leave the apartment that had been home for the last five years. Tammy had moved in with them after her dad had kicked her out for getting pregnant._

_"Right, let's go," Will said quietly, and they all nodded._

_They began to silently leave the apartment, their backpacks on their backs with a few articles of clothing. The hallway was littered with dead bodies, blood staining the floor, as they carefully walked down the stairs._

_"I packed supplies in a jeep that I hid in the garage, just in case something like this happened," James whispered grimly. He might not trust the government but this just proved it._

_"Good thinking Jem, you saved our asses," Will said proudly. They looked around and headed outside in a single file. That was until Tammy spotted a sniper up in one of the apartments._

_"Will, there's a sniper in the apartment on the left," she whispered quietly. Will nodded and pulled out a rectangle piece of glass to get a look at the sniper's location._

_The sniper shot it out of his hand. Will pulled out his sniper rifle and shot him in the head, causing him to fall out of the window. He gestured for them that it was safe, and they started continuing on when they heard an explosion in the distance._

_"What the hell was that?" Isabelle asked apprehensively, seeing smoke billowing up ahead as helicopters flew over and then above the city._

_"Jesus Christ, they're napalming the city. RUN, WE GOTTA MOVE!" Will yelled urgently. All of them started running as the borough of the __The Bronx was suddenly exploded, a bomb being dropped right onto the ground. People screamed in horror. _

_"Oh my god!" Tammy said terrified. She was practically dragging Andy who for once looked scared. Ghost was ahead of them, as they made out of the Bronx and ran towards the area where James had hidden the car._

_They ran into the vehicle and raced off, with Will taking the backways that most people didn't know about. As they drove away, Scarlet leaned back in her seat, clearly upset. She sighed heavily, as they were all quiet for a moment._

_"Listen, there's something I need to tell you guys. I only just found out this morning, and it's bad," Scarlet said suddenly, causing them all to stare._

_"What is it?" Tammy asked worriedly. They were all sweating and on edge from what had happened._

_"We're all infected."_

_Isabelle's brow furrows as she turns to the girl. "What are you talking about?"_

_"That's why Tammy's dad and mom turned. That's why all of this is happening. I overheard someone talking about it in the hospital earlier today. No matter what, the infection has spread through the air. We've all inhaled it. No matter how we die, unless it's a shot or something through our head, we come back as those…monsters. That's why so many people here are undead."_

_Isabelle swallows and looks at the chaos that was ensuing outside, hearing the deafening silence that echoed in the car. There were screams and shouts as they drove away, but the noisiest thing was the silence between them._

_Will sighs after a long pause. "Even so…we just need to keep our cool and go along with whatever is happening. And if that comes down to it…then one of us will kill the other. That's how this world is gonna be."_

_Isabelle sniffles but nods, glancing over at Tammy, who seemed heartbroken. She looks over at her friend and grabs her hand tightly._

_Whatever was happening now, she had a feeling it was going to be permanent._

* * *

_Little backstory for you guys - can't keep Isabelle's story secret forever!_

_Thanks for reading and don't forget to follow, favorite and leave a review! They always make me wanna keep going and writing. This has been awesome. Happy Thanksgiving to all the American readers and have a good day to everyone else. Love you all :)_


	5. Safe, Yet Not

_Thank you guys so much for the follows, favorites and reviews. Thank you to:_

_Guest_

_DarylDixon'sLover_

_KH4EVR (via private message)_

_Your reviews always make me want to keep writing. Hope you enjoy this chapter :)_

* * *

"Belle?"

Isabelle snaps out of her memory and looks over to see Daryl trying to get her attention. She sighs and nods her head before writing.

"Sorry. Lost in old memories."

He nods and glances at the fence. "I get that sometimes…less and less nowadays."

Isabelle frowns quietly at him as he heads towards the fences. Before she could write anything, Beth comes over and squeezes her shoulder. Isabelle looks over at her. "Don't bother. Daryl is a nice guy, but he's super quiet about his past and even things that have happened to us. Doesn't like to remember bad memories."

Isabelle nods as the two of them take up at the opposite side. Isabelle climbs up the ladder and glances around, seeing some people staring at her, and some people staring at Lydia on the ground, who was helping out Magna with some of the closer walkers. When they get to the top, Isabelle starts to write again.

"Are they always this scared about people?"

Beth sighs and sits at the edge of her post. "They didn't use to be. Hilltop was the more…welcoming of the safe zones. Hear me out." She turns to her. "The story of us is that there were four safe zones. There was Hilltop, Alexandria, Oceanside, and the Kingdom. We had all come together to take down the Saviors led by a man named Negan. I don't think you've met him yet but he's…different. Kind of a dick. But I think he's changing for good. Anyway, after some time, we lost a man that was close to us, who was trying to unite us…and then from there, stuff just started happening to make people drift apart. Maggie, my sister, had gone off to help this woman make more safe zones with her son, and I haven't heard from her since…says she'll be back and I hope she will…the Kingdom fell when the Whisperers attacked and burned it, so now most of those people are here taking asylum. That's why some aren't that keen on letting you guys in."

Isabelle nods, understanding the reasons. She didn't blame them. She had moments in the past where she was very wary of trusting anyone that came close to her family. That, in turn, had to lead to them getting separated, and her being alone like she was now. Daryl had been the first man she had trusted in God knows how long.

Ever since Beta had hurt her – she didn't keep track of time, but she knew it was a little bit of time ago – trusting people didn't ever come easy. Why she went with Daryl? She didn't know. Maybe he was different. Maybe he had a different look in his eyes that didn't scream evil. He seemed like he had genuinely wanted to help her, and she had wanted to believe it.

Maybe it was true.

"How old were you when this started?" Isabelle writes out.

Beth chuckles, shaking her head. "Sixteen. You?"

Isabelle writes back. "Twenty. I was getting my undergrad at NYU when the shit hit the fan."

"Damn," Beth mumbles. "It's a shame I never got to experience anything like that. College, I mean. I don't think I'll ever get the chance again, either."

Isabelle shrugs before writing quickly. "It wasn't anything crazy. Just a lot of work and drinking. Kinda just sounds like how it is now."

"Yeah, but wouldn't you give for that kind of work again? To just have a sense of normalcy?" Beth asks. "To not be killing these things that are constantly following us. To just…I don't know, talk about the shitty life of dating and binge eat pizza and all that shit. I wish I could have that."

Isabelle smiles sadly at her and takes her hand, squeezing it. Beth sighs and gently smiles back at her, happy that at least one person understood that. When Isabelle pulls away, she writes again.

"I could find a shitty movie and we can eat food," Isabelle suggests.

Beth snorts. "In my dreams. If you can, I'm down."

Isabelle smiles and nods, putting away her notepad. And then the two sit in comfortable silence, looking ahead for the walkers that were coming.

**~%~**

Later on, when night had fallen, Daryl had been released from his shift duties. He could see that Lydia was tired and encouraged her to head into one of the trailers and rest. She smiled sleepily at him and did so.

He had to admit, the girl was putting in the work. She was really trying to pull her weight in killing all these walkers and people were starting to take notice. But he knew that there were still people who would gladly trade her over to the Whisperers still.

He would need to keep his eyes open.

He watches as Beth helps Isabelle down from the ladder, seeing the girl smile at the young blonde. Daryl had to admit; it felt good to see her smile after the state he found her in. And he had noticed she had taken out some of the walkers too with her pistol. Her arm still clearly looked hurt, but at least she was trying.

Beth looks over and nods at him. "Daryl, I'm going to take the small trailer for the night. You mind of Isabelle stays with you before we leave tomorrow?"

Daryl clears his throat but nods. "Uh, yeah, sure she can." Isabelle smiles gently at him before heading into the same trailer Lydia did. He follows after her and watches as she sits down on the couch. Lydia had already fallen asleep in one of the bedrooms in the trailer. "Ya know, ya could take the other bed if ya want," he says to her quietly.

She tilts her head before writing down. "Don't you want to be comfy?"

Daryl snorts before shaking his head. "Isabelle, ya don't gotta worry 'bout me. I've been sleeping on hard surfaces my whole life. Take the bed. Ya need it more."

Isabelle nods and stands, heading into the bedroom. Before she does though, she turns to Daryl and sees him sink into the sofa. She nods at him and then suddenly signs with her hands. 'Goodnight.'

Since his lessons with Connie, he signs back. 'Night.'

That made her smile brightly, a real grin from cheek to cheek. And for the first time in forever, he felt all warm and tingly inside at seeing someone so happy. She closes the door behind her and Daryl shakes his head to try and get whatever the hell that was in him out of him, before sighing lowly.

"I am gettin' way over my fuckin' head," he mutters to himself before passing out.

**~%~**

The next morning, Daryl woke up to hear laughter outside. Although the sound of children laughing wasn't strange anymore, at least to him, it was still very early and the sound wasn't a child laughing. It was a woman.

He glances outside and sees the sun had just barely risen. Whoever was up was crazy to be getting up at this hour, but who was he to talk since he did the same thing?

He quickly puts on his boots and heads outside, before stopping at what he saw.

There was Isabelle, playing with Dog right out in the open. She had on a long-sleeved t-shirt, and a pair of what looked like Beth's sweatpants, but they fit her well. She was throwing a bone and Dog was playing chase with her, coming back and forth.

It was the cutest damn thing he ever saw.

When Dog noticed he was there, he barks at Daryl. Isabelle turns around and instantly, her cheeks turn a dark red, something that made Daryl internally snort. She tries to speak but nothing comes out. Daryl shakes his head and walks over to her.

"I ain't mad," he says quietly, causing her to let out a breath of relief. "Fact, it's good. He needed some exercise." She smiles a little as she throws the bone again before Dog brings it back within seconds. "He likes you," Daryl murmurs, glancing down at her.

She takes out her pad and quickly writes. "I like him too." Daryl nods at Dog, who runs back to the trailer. Isabelle stops Daryl before he could go back, writing something quickly. "When did you learn how to sign?"

Daryl rubs the back of his neck before sighing. "I, uh…ain't really good at it. I started learnin' because one of my friends here can't hear, so I wanted to talk to 'er too. I know ya ain't fully deaf, and yer ear ain't that bad, but I figured since ya can't talk well yet, I could at least sign a little."

Isabelle writes quickly before showing him the pad. "It surprised me. I really liked it. If you want, I can give you lessons."

Daryl laughs for once, a full laugh that made her smile too before he shakes his head. "I ain't really a good student."

"And I'm not a good teacher, but I can try," she writes.

Daryl looks down at her before nodding quietly. "Alright…I'll take ya up on that some time."

Isabelle's smile turns soft, and he felt himself feel a little bit good about responding to her offer. Before he could say anything else, there was a sudden burst from his trailer, and Lydia came out looking haunted.

"Daryl, I just found this on my chest," she says, out of breath, gasping for air. "I…I don't know what to do."

Daryl takes the piece of paper she was holding and looks at it, feeling his rage start to build. Isabelle glances at it and felt her heart stop.

It was a drawing of her and Lydia, with their heads on pikes, and the word scribbled beneath it, 'We will end you both.'

He had a good idea who was behind this. He narrowed his eyes and gestured for Beth to come over with Yumiko. Both of them saw what was on the page, and their expressions turned to one of anger.

He had a feeling that the Highway men led by Margo and Alfred, not to mention Gage and Alden were behind this. They were the ones who had been in protest at the meeting. They had to be the people behind this.

He was done being sympathetic. It was time to teach these people a lesson.

**~%~**

Yumiko and the rest of the Hilltop Council had thrown Alden into a cell but allowed Earl to speak with him. Beth could hear the older man pleading with Alden to stop hurting Isabelle and Lydia, as he personally didn't blame them.

"Tammy wouldn't want this, and neither would Enid, son. You know that deep down. All you're doing is that you're listening to Gage, Alfred and Margo's bullshit. Were you gonna roughen them up or beat them to death?" Earl asked sternly. "They have done nothing wrong. All they were, were the victims."

Alden didn't respond at first. But judging from the horrified and offended expression on his face, Daryl would guess correctly that Alden didn't want to actually hurt the two girls.

"I wouldn't do that to them, Earl. I don't trust or like them, but I wouldn't hurt them. Alfred, Gage, and Margo are the ones who would hurt them... I'm just sick of the fighting. I miss Enid...that's what it comes down to," he admitted quietly, causing Daryl to nod at Earl in thanks.

He'd be having a chat with those three.

**~%~**

Once the group returned to Alexandria, Isabelle helped Lydia with learning how to read. She also patrolled the area with Daryl, while her own eyes searched for her family occasionally along the wall.

There wasn't any sign of them; obviously they wouldn't show out of anywhere. But she knew they were alive. Her brothers and friends were too stubborn to give up. They had to be okay. They just had to be.

She had offered to cook dinner for Daryl – in return for everything he had done for her so far – because she felt a little better. Lydia had gone outside to grab the laundry that had been drying. Isabelle was about to go outside to find her and bring her in again for the dinner she cooked when she heard Dog growling.

Something was wrong. Dog could sense it.

Isabelle grabbed her knife as she hurried out through the back door. As she got closer, she heard cries of anguish, and she turned the corner to see Lydia being beaten up by Alfred, Margo, and Gage.

She saw red at that moment. She just lost her temper. Something that hadn't happened in a long time.

In seconds, she whistled, distracting Alfred, who screamed in pain when Dog mauled at his arm. She had learned how to control dogs a while ago for security purposes but still loved the hell out of them. Daryl had told her Dog was like that.

Isabelle moved away from Margo, who tried to stab her with her machete. She punched her hard across the face, breaking her nose.

The woman yelled out and grabbed her by the hair roughly, throwing her to the side. Isabelle cringes in pain at her shoulder, looking over to see Margo climbing on top of Lydia again. Isabelle tried to get up, but Alfred suddenly climbed on top of her and was choking her with his bare hands.

"Die, you fucking bitch!" he snarled enraged. Isabelle squirmed and felt around, trying to find something, and then grabbed one of her knives that she'd used to kill a walker this morning at the gates from her pant leg.

She slashed him with it with her free arm, causing the man to scream in pain as he threw Isabelle away. Her head hit the bottom of the pavement, pain surging through her. Margo was suddenly yanked off Lydia and flung into the wall. She heard a sickening crack and saw blood stain the surface of the building.

Black spots started appearing in her vision.

Daryl had rushed from the house, after hearing Brandon calling Negan's name. When he got there, he saw Margo slumped on the grass, blood around her head. Negan was standing there, clearly shocked and trying to talk his way out of how Margo died, but Daryl was more focused on the hurt girls in front of him.

Alfred and Gage were being restrained by Scott and Kyle. Beth was helping Lydia sit up, but what stood out to him was that Isabelle was out cold. Rosita was trying to help her up, but there was nothing else she could do.

Daryl instinctively held Lydia who sobbed into his shirt, already knowing what happened. Alfred, Margo, and Gage had tried to kill Isabelle and Lydia, but Dog and Negan had saved them. He looks over at Isabelle, who was now being held upwards. He could see blood trailing from her pale blonde hair, down her cheek, and looked down at Lydia to see her cuts as well. He snaps.

"Put them in the cells! They ain't going anywhere. And bury that bitch outside," he snarled dangerously. Laura nodded grimly and dragged Margo's body outside with a grim-faced Eugene.

"They need to get to the infirmary, Daryl," Beth said concerned. He nodded and helped them both up as they started walking to the infirmary, while Alfred, Gage, and Negan were taken to separate cells.

"We were just trying to scare them!" Gage begged pleadingly, but no one paid attention to his attempts at avoiding blame. Kyle shoved him forward into the house, where the council meeting would be held.

* * *

_Time for some drama. And some cute moments between Isabelle and Daryl. But mainly drama. _

_Thank you guys so much for reading and don't forget to follow, favorite and drop a review! They always make me wanna keep writing. Thank you guys and have a good day! Love ya :)_


	6. Trust

_Sorry for the delay in this chapter. It's been done but I've been so busy with school I haven't had time to edit and upload but now the semester is done and I can finally put this up. Thank you guys so much for all the follows, favorites and reviews. Thank you to:_

_celia azul _

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* * *

Lydia had bruised ribs and a sprained wrist. Isabelle had bruises on her throat, a partial black eye, and stitches on one side of her head from a cut from the pavement. She'd passed out and was fast asleep with Carol keeping guard. Her gash on her skin hadn't been opened, and for that Daryl was thankful.

He was still pissed as all hell though.

"I knew that Margo was trouble. She's been trying to hurt Lydia and Isabelle since they moved here…what do you think should happen to Negan?" Beth asked gravely, knowing that the situation was worsening. She didn't want Negan to be executed and thought he had saved Lydia and Isabelle. But she knew others would think he should go.

"I think he should stay. As much as I hate the fucker, he did save 'em. Alfred and Gage tried to kill them, along with Margo. I'm gonna have a little chat with them later…fuckin' assholes," Daryl said angrily. Lydia came into the room then silently, her face bruised and her lip bloody.

Daryl looks over at her and instantly holds out an arm, feeling Lydia cry against him. He looks over at Beth, who was quiet. She throws Daryl a look of sympathy before heading back to the infirmary, going to restock. When Lydia pulls back, Daryl puts her face in his hands.

"Ya listen to me. These fuckers ain't going to get away with this. They're gonna pay for what they did. We're gonna get this shit done."

Lydia swallows and nods, her throat hurting.

"Isabelle…she tried to save me first," Lydia says softly, looking up at him. Daryl's brow furrows.

"I thought they were attackin' ya both?"

Lydia shakes her head. "No…they were trying to attack me...I guess she must have come out to get me for dinner. She saw they were hurting me and came at them with a knife even if she was still hurt. Then they started to hurt her…Alfred was choking her…if she had died because of me…"

"Hey, she ain't dead," Daryl states quietly, trying to ease her nerves. "For what it's worth, I don't think we give the girl enough credit despite 'er bein' hurt. She's got some balls; I can see it." Lydia snorts but nods. "She's okay. She wasn't strong enough to stop them, but she did enough that other people were alerted at the noise."

Lydia looks over at him. "Negan saved me. He threw Margo off me because she was going to kill me. Please…please don't kill him. He's changed. He's different. I know you hate him but please, he saved my life, Daryl...I can't have another person die 'cause of me." She was near tears again.

Daryl sighs and nods his head. "Lydia…if ya say that's what happened, then I'll believe ya."

Lydia hugs him tightly and Daryl hugs her back, letting out a deep breath. When did his world become like this? Comforting someone who had just been nearly killed more and more? Every single week?

"Isabelle is pretty cool," Lydia mumbles into his shirt. Daryl snickers and shakes his head.

"Yeah, gotta admit she is." He pulls back from her and squeezes her shoulder. "Imma take ya home, then check on her. Ya okay with that?" Lydia nods softly, and the two leave the building to go back home so she could rest for the time being.

_**~%~**_

Afterward, Daryl heads back towards the infirmary, heading to Isabelle's room. He nods at Carol, who was resting near the door and guarding the girl. Carol had said that sleeping came a little harder to her lately, so guarding was something that she could do in the meantime.

He heads inside and closes the door, walking over to the edge of her bed. He sits down next to her, and in that moment, her eyes flutter open.

She looks around groggily and then sleepily speaks. "…am I in heaven?"

That was the first time he had ever heard her voice. And it made him laugh. Her voice was shot, croaky, and definitely not used for a long time. It sounded like someone who had been coughing non-stop and just decided to have a conversation. But it was there, and it sounded beautiful.

"If ya think this is heaven, Belle, I got some bad news for ya," he chuckles a little. She smiles a bit and leans up, cringing. "I wouldn't do that if I were ya."

She sighs and nods, leaning back in bed. His brow raises a little at her.

"Ya talked," he points out. "I thought ya wouldn't?"

She bites her lower lip and looks up at him. "I…don't. I…trust you and…her." She points outside. "I'm not usually…someone to talk but I…I don't know." She glances towards the window. "Even with what happened…I feel safer with you then I did out there. And I need to speak...at least at some point."

He had to admit that he felt a little warm inside hearing her say that. That was his main goal half the time now, to somehow make some people feel a little bit fucking safer in this fucked up world. And the fact that Isabelle felt that way made him feel good.

"Well…ya gotta drink water." He walks over to her and tilts her head back, helping her drink. "If ya want to talk again."

"I'm just…" she starts once she finishes. "I'm afraid…of…the man…him…."

"I know…but we ain't gonna let them get to ya. Not again." She looks up at him, his expression stagnant, serious. "I ain't gonna let 'em hurt ya."

She nods softly. "…ok."

Daryl glances outside and then back at her. "What ya did with Lydia…ya didn't have to do that. But we're thankful for it. Really."

Isabelle manages a soft smile. "I couldn't let her get hurt…she's not like them."

Daryl chews the bottom of his thumb, still nodding. "I know, but it still means a lot. So thank ya." Isabelle nods. "How are ya feelin'?"

"Like my head is gonna explode."

Daryl snorts and nods. "Yeah, I get that. You'll be restin' here for the day, try and get back energy. Beth and I are gonna go on a run tomorrow to get more medical supplies. Little bit to avoid the bullshit happenin' here tomorrow with Negan…sure ya saw him for the first time."

"He was good…he saved her He didn't seem bad."

"I know…I believe her." Daryl looks at her and then nods back outside. "Gonna make sure we pick up everything to make sure ya are gonna be okay. Just rest for now, alright?"

She nods softly and then closes her eyes, heading to sleep a few moments later. Daryl leaves the room and nods again at Carol before heading downstairs, sighing.

This whole entire mess was driving him up the wall.

_**~%~**_

The next day, Daryl and Beth headed out of the zone, trying to figure out the best places to go to try and find medicine for the group. After some thorough searching on the map, they both concluded that a nearby hospital would be their best way of finding them.

That was until they were swarmed with walkers in the medical unit.

"Fuck, what do we do, Daryl?" Beth asked worriedly. This hospital had been clear of walkers last time. Clearly a herd of them had migrated there over the winter.

"Try and clear a path to get out of here, Beth," Daryl said grimly. He pulled out his crossbow and fired at the first two walkers. Beth nodded and covered him as they tried to escape the hospital and head home, but there were just too many.

More walkers crashed through the hole in the upper floor - this might actually be it.

Daryl stabbed another walker in the head, trying to get some air when he saw five of the walkers get taken down by a nail bomb.

"Quick, over here!" a male voice shouted urgently. Daryl and Beth hurried over to where the voice had shouted out to them. They ran down the hallway and barricaded the doors. Once they did, they turned around to see four people aiming their weapons at them.

Two of them were men. One had short dark brown hair and grey eyes, like a gathering storm and the other man had dark blonde-brown hair and hazel eyes. There were two women with them. One had dark brown hair and the other one had dark blonde hair. There was a young teenage boy standing next to her.

"Thanks for helpin' us. We wouldn't have gotten out of there if ya hadn't saved our lives," Daryl said gratefully, causing the man with the hunting bow to nod his head in understanding.

"No worries. We were hiding out in a house near the hospital. Are you two alright?" the man asked wearily. Daryl nodded and looked at the group when he realized something.

They were Isabelle's family. Her two older brothers, best friend, and cousin. The young boy was her best friend's younger brother.

"Ya wouldn't happen to be looking for someone, would ya?" Daryl asked wearily. The man stared at him silently.

"We're looking for mine and James's younger sister. Her name's Isabelle Doyle. She was taken from us…do you know where she is?" Will asked suspiciously. Daryl smiled a bit. For once, by chance, they actually found people they were looking for.

"Yeah. I found her with one of my friends. She was hiding in a closet that was in an abandoned house near the Whisperer border and gotten hurt. She's been lookin' for all of ya," he explained honestly. Will's face became emotional.

"You mind us coming with you? We'll earn our keep, I swear...we just want to see Isabelle," Will promised, the rest nodding in agreement.

Daryl glanced at Beth who nodded encouragingly. He grabbed the backpack that was stocked up with supplies from the hospital, including medical supplies, and turns to them.

"Ya can come with us. Let's get out of here," he said quietly. They nodded and followed him before they left the building through the back.

_**~%~**_

Isabelle had been on watch in the tower when she saw a group of around twenty walkers coming towards Alexandria. She quickly grabbed her radio and called Lydia.

"Lydia, get Michonne and Carol. There's a herd of twenty walkers coming this way," she said quickly, her voice hoarse.

She was still very iffy on speaking in general. Although these people seemed nice, there were a few she actually trusted, like Daryl or Beth or Lydia. For now, she only used it when she needed to. The more she used it though, the less croaky she became.

Her mind still told her that now that she speaking, that evil man was going to hunt her down, but she had to force those thoughts out of her head.

"I'm on it. I'll get Aaron and Laura too," Lydia said quickly. Isabelle thanked her and unsheathed her knife. She climbed down the ladder and took out the three nearest walkers. As she went to stab the next one, more started to appear from the side.

Shit, where were all these walkers coming from? Was someone luring them here?

_**~%~**_

Carol had snuck out of Alexandria, determined to search for the Whisperer. She knew it had been them that had attacked her. The old woman gripped her knife tightly, as she saw two Whisperers, quiet as always, luring walkers towards Alexandria, Hilltop and Oceanside.

She snuck up behind one of them and slit his throat, before knocking out the other. She gagged her before taking away her weapons, and then tied her to a horse, riding back to Alexandria.

No matter what, she was determined to stop these bastards.

_**~%~**_

By the time the others got back from the hospital, they arrived just in time to see that they were fighting walkers – and a shit ton of them. Daryl gets to shooting, and the others start to join in.

"Need help?!" James called out quickly, causing everyone to turn around at seeing him coming off the horse. Isabelle's face suddenly brightened at seeing her two brothers and friends rushing over to help, smiling bigger than she ever had.

When the last walker was taken out and blood was shed, Isabelle ran over to her brothers and hugged them tightly, tears streaming down her face. Daryl wiped the blood from his cheeks and watched quietly as Isabelle pulled back, her hands cupping her older brother's face.

"How?" she whispers.

"We ran into your friends here; they brought us back," Will states, nodding at Daryl. Isabelle smiles at Daryl and signs 'thank you,' to him. He manages a quietly sign back, but couldn't deny that it felt good to see her so happy.

Suddenly, he saw Carol entering the community with someone being dragged by her horse. She dismounted, letting Lydia take the horse to cool down and rest, and then drags someone up that was tied and bound.

"I found out who was sending the walkers to us, Daryl!" she said darkly and pulled the burlap sack off the person's head. Everyone stared in shock and anger at seeing the female Whisperer. Will ripped the mask off her face.

"That's one of those freaks who attacked our group and took Isabelle away," Will said angrily. Alfred and Gage looked at him and James wearily.

"Who the hell are you people?" he asked wearily. The man knew Daryl had said that Isabelle had two older brothers, who'd been in the army.

"They're Isabelle's family. She got taken away from them when the Whisperers attacked their camp a year ago," Daryl said warningly and moved closer towards them. "Since ya two nearly fuckin' killed Isabelle and Lydia, neither of ya are gettin' any rations. Besides, ya two can live in that cell block for a few more days," Daryl said harshly, seeing them pale.

"This is bullshit. They're the reason that Addy, Margo, and Rodney are dead, and we're the ones being punished?! They're fucking Whisperers. You can't tell us what to do!" Alfred raged angrily.

Will then walked calmly towards him and punched Alfred right in the face. Hard. Most of the group jumped in shock but did nothing to stop him.

The man yelled in pain, clutching his bleeding, broken nose. When Gage pulled out his shotgun, Tammy and James aimed their weapons at him.

"Don't! Just don't. Unless you wanna get even more beaten up," James advised warningly. The man glared as Daryl showed them to the council meeting room.

"You can't just show up here and suddenly start beating the shit out of us!" the man snaps as they walk away, but Daryl shakes his head.

"Don't listen to them. They're fuckin' useless." He turns to Will. "Sides, ya got my permission to punch 'em any day."

* * *

_I'm excited to bring in her family, like so much haha_

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	7. Reunion

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Will hadn't let Isabelle out of his sight. He'd failed at protecting his family when they'd been staying at the lodge. Tammy, Isabelle, and Scarlet had all said that something wasn't right, and he hadn't listened to them.

His sister had been kidnapped, beaten and raped. His best friend had nearly been killed. The woman he had feelings for had been attacked. Andy had been psychologically scarred. He'd let them down, but they all still trusted him. Why? He didn't fucking know.

Isabelle's dark blue eyes saw him looking at Tammy, who was being looked over by Beth, Dante, and Siddiq. James was talking quietly to Aaron. Andy was playing with a little boy. Isabelle silently comes over and hugged Will.

He hugged her back tightly. She was smaller than him, and when she'd been a baby, he'd been scared about breaking her or dropping her when she'd finally left the NICU unit. His baby sister was tough but gentle and that made him protective of her. James was as well.

"Where have you all been over the last few months?" Gabriel asked cautiously. Will sighed heavily.

"Moving around, trying to look for Isabelle, but every time we found a clue we ended up being forced away by the Whisperers. We were in a community like this, at a hunting lodge. Damn place was a goldmine until they showed up and started cutting us off," Will said quietly. Tammy and Isabelle moved to his side.

"Wasn't your fault, Will," Isabelle whispered softly, her voice hoarse and croaky. It startled a few people at hearing her speak, but no one made a big deal out of it.

Will gave her and the group a sad but bitter smile at their reassurance. It was his fault.

"You can say it wasn't, but I know it was. I should have kept a better lookout. I should have been smarter. It's on me." He looks down at her and his brow furrows. "Why does your voice sound like that?"

Isabelle bites her lip. Daryl decides to speak up at that point. "When she was captured by the Whisperers, they beat her up real bad. Beta told her that if she spoke your names or anyone, then they'd kill her. She's been speaking to people for the first time in over a year these past couple of days. Takin' it slow."

Will shakes his head, placing it in his hands. "Jesus Christ…I'm so sorry, Isabelle."

Tammy places a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We're here now. And we're not going to be leaving anytime soon."

James grabs his gun. "I'm gonna go fucking kill those bastards."

"Hold on," Daryl states, standing up. "We ain't got the numbers right now to take them on. Trust me. A lot of people here want all of 'em dead. Not just ya. We're going to take 'em on. Carol gettin' that Whisperer was essential."

Will sighs and looks over at Isabelle. "In the meantime, where are you staying?" he asks his younger sister.

She fumbles on her words before looking over at Daryl. "She's been in and out a lot due to her injuries and what's been happening…got hurt by some fuckers here last night. The guy you punch hurt her badly."

"Good. At least I know the punch was for a good reason."

Isabelle shakes her head, chuckling inwardly. Daryl glances at her and then shrugs. "Lydia and I got space in our house. She can stay in a room now. Ya can probably have yer own place if ya pull your keep. Michonne'll kill me if I don't say that."

Will's brow furrows. "Why is she staying with you and not with us?"

Before Daryl could combat the statement, Isabelle talks again. "He saved me, Will...brought me somewhere…safe. If you don't trust him, then there's gonna be issues...he's good."

Everyone seemed surprised she defended Daryl so easily. Even Daryl himself. But Will sighs and shakes his head.

"It's not that I don't trust him, Isabelle. He did save you. You're right...I've just missed you," he says softly.

Isabelle manages a small smile. "I missed you too, but I'll be safe."

Will swallows and nods. "Alright…" He looks back at Daryl. "Show us where to go, southern boy."

_**~%~**_

Later on in the night, once Daryl had brought the group to a house they could stay in, he brought Isabelle to his house. Having her stay there was a last-minute decision – really because they hadn't even discussed where she was staying at all. He just figured after they had shared a trailer together she could rest in his house for the time being.

They walk inside, and as soon as they do, Isabelle stares in shock. His brow raises.

"What's got ya so surprised?" he asks.

"I just…this place still amazes me. This house is amazing."

The wonder and amazement that settled in her eyes made him chuckle a bit before he moves her back towards the rest of the house. "Well, ya can use any of it. The kitchen is big – we don't use it that often cause we all eat together most of the time, but ya can use it if ya want. Lydia knows how to make some spaghetti, but that's 'bout it."

Isabelle laughs, and it makes him chuckle. He guides her upstairs, where he sees Lydia's door closed – probably because she was sleeping. He guides her to the last room and leads her inside.

"This can be yer room. I got Beth to bring some clothes for ya to wear. Same size and all." Isabelle walks inside and stares in awe, before collapsing onto the queen-sized bed.

Daryl snorts at her childish interaction, but couldn't deny that the happiness was infectious. He nods towards a door in the corner.

"That's a bathroom ya can use. There's roof access too if ya ever wanna go out at night or if we got a breach."

She nods and looks over at him. "Thank you. For all of this."

Daryl nods in response. "It ain't nothin'…just don't suddenly change on us. Gotten too many of those in the past."

Isabelle's brow furrows. "What do you mean?"

He sighs. "Just don't change, Belle."

After that, he leaves the room, letting her be alone. She tilts her head a bit at his words. She guessed that each time they had brought someone new into the community they might have hurt people in a certain way.

But that wasn't Isabelle's intentions at all. All she wanted to do was live.

And Daryl seemed to offer it to her on a silver platter.

"Maybe it can be different," she mumbles to herself, staring up at the ceiling. "Just maybe."

_**~%~**_

The next morning was plagued with the news that Negan, the man who had helped Lydia and Isabelle during the fight, was out of his cell. Lydia had confided in her saying that she had let Negan go late last night, but Isabelle hadn't been the first to believe her.

If she did, she did, but at the end of the day, the man was gone. Lydia said it was better if he was free and not killed. Isabelle had agreed, although she had no idea what the man had done before.

Really, she had no clue what anyone had done before she got here. She'd have to sit down with Beth or Daryl and have a real history lesson of sorts.

But eventually, they all sat down outside later on in the day, together. Isabelle with her family, speaking as soft as she could as to not hurt her throat. She could see Daryl coming in and out of the cell blocks, sometimes with blood on his fingers.

At one point, there was a decent amount that she excused herself from her family and walked over to the garage. As she walked in, her eyes widened at seeing his bike.

"You ride a motorcycle?"

He looks up at her in surprise and then nods. "Yeah. Been doing it for a while now."

"I, uh…used to ride one. Before the world went to shit."

His brow raises in surprise, and he crosses his arms across his chest. "Ya? And all yer…smallness?"

She snorts. "Just because I'm small doesn't mean I can't ride."

Although that could have been taken to a much dirtier area than she could have imagined, she instead walks over and lays a hand on the bike, noticing how the fuel had been reimaged for a new type of reusable fuel in the world they lived in.

"You changed this around?" she asks him quietly.

"Had to with fuel goin' out."

"Wow…it's just amazing. I haven't seen one of these in…God, years? I don't know." She looks over at him and sees him shaking his head. "Oh, what now?"

"Yer just full of surprises. That's all."

Isabelle smiles and then walks over to him. She gently takes his hand into hers and examines the bloodstained knuckles, before looking back up at the archer. "...is everything alright?"

Daryl doesn't respond for a second, and then softly sighs, grabbing a cloth and wiping the blood from his skin. "It's fine. Alfred and Gage were just givin' me a hard time and with Negan suddenly escaping and Lydia tellin' me it was her…just been a hell of a day. I don't know what the fuck to do."

Isabelle tilts her head and then bites her lip. "Whenever I was stressed when I was younger...I'd always figure out what I love to do the most and just do that. Like…I loved to watch older movies when I was younger and make cookies. So I'd do that for the night to forget what was happening...it would make me, I don't know, less stressed...maybe you should do that."

He snorts and shakes his head. "I ain't been able to do somethin' I liked in years."

"Well...maybe it's time you did," she states, nodding back to his home. "Maybe even watch a movie or something."

Daryl stands and looks over at Isabelle, seeing how she was looking at him. She thought she was being sweet, kind. He had to admit, it was a nice idea. But there was just too much shit going on for him to take the time out to sit down and relax.

But that didn't mean he didn't like to play along.

"I like to ride," he admits, glancing at her. "On the bike, I mean. Nice to get out."

"Then you should go riding."

"Kinda dangerous to go out there alone now with the Whisperers."

Isabelle shrugs her shoulders. "Okay…then take me."

Daryl snorts. "Isabelle, yer still healin'."

"And? I haven't been able to use my bow in weeks...I wanna shoot again. I'm a good shot...I can prove it to you. I get to hunt and you get to ride...best of both worlds."

His brow raises. "Ya know how to hunt?"

"Doesn't everyone now?"

Daryl shakes his head. Jesus, she was stubborn. She wasn't gonna let this go. So, after trying to fight the idea for a good period of time, he shakes his head and nods at the bike. "Alright, we can ride. But ya gotta stay in my sight. At all times."

"I can do that, don't worry," she explained softly. Daryl nodded. After she said goodbye to everyone, she and Daryl were riding through the gates of Alexandria, heading off.

_**~%~**_

After a good amount of time out there, they managed to hunt a male deer from a large herd but were careful not to over hunt the wild animals.

He had to admit that even though her arm hurt, she was still a good shot with her bow. She had gotten an arrow right through the eye of the deer and out the back of the head, a fantastic shot. Out of everything that this girl was good at, hunting was not something he had expected.

Guess it was just another one of those things that this girl kept surprising him with.

They were just about to leave the area when they stumbled across a body in the bushes.

It was Brandon. A boy who had grown up from the Saviors in Alexandria.

Now that Daryl thought about it, it made sense. He had helped Negan escape the cell due to the stories one of the old Saviors had told him, and for some reason, Negan had killed him.

And judging from the overkill of stab wounds, Daryl would guess that Brandon had really pissed him off.

They needed to bring his body back to Alexandria and tell Michonne, along with the rest of the council what had happened. He couldn't help but hope this made people leave Lydia alone.

"Well, at least this will prove that Lydia didn't help Negan escape...I wonder where he went?" Isabelle asked quietly. Daryl shook his head grimly as he watched Isabelle fire her bow at a lone walker. "I still didn't even get to meet him."

"Ya didn't need to," Daryl states quietly, glancing around. "He was a dick most of the time…but something's changed with 'im."

He didn't know why, but he felt like they were being watched. He knew they needed to get back to Alexandria. He tapped Isabelle on the shoulder silently, letting her know that they should leave, nodding back towards the bike.

She nodded in understanding and headed back to get on the bike. As they walked, she saw two wild horses, but as she got closer, they didn't run away. They must have been used to humans at one point.

She cautiously walked over and began stroking them to reassure them, and they huffed in response.

"Looks like we've got two more horses for Alexandria, Daryl," she said amusedly. Daryl smiled as they carefully placed Brandon's body over one of the horses. He then helped her with the deer, as her shoulder was still slightly sore, placing it over the other horse.

"Ya ain't wrong there…let's get back before it gets too dark," he said quietly. She nodded and climbed on one of the horses, before they began riding back to Alexandria, keeping an eye out for any walkers or Whisperers.

_**~%~**_

No one was surprised to learn that the Whisperers were behind sending the walkers to the communities once they questioned the man, but a few people were shocked when Michonne revealed that Brandon was the one who had helped Negan escape the cell.

People were starting to leave Lydia alone, but she was still wary. Beth kept close to her, and so did Isabelle, although she didn't speak as much as she did with some of the others. Daryl, of course, was always trying to keep an eye out.

Eventually, later on, Andy left to go on patrol around Alexandria with Alfred and Gage. No one trusted those two after recent events, but Scarlet was coming with them as well for back up just in case. Isabelle bit her lip as she said goodbye to her cousin, hugging her tightly, and Andy waved at her.

Both seemed happy to be helping…but that had been a little while ago.

They'd been gone a bit now, and it was making everyone uneasy, especially Daryl and Isabelle. When they didn't return until later, Isabelle sat outside, as if waiting for something.

By chance, they would return okay. She knew she had to somehow pray. But every bone in her body was screaming that something was wrong.

_**~%~**_

Negan had heard that Alpha was a crazy bitch from Lydia, but this was even crazier what she was doing now. He had escaped before from that fucker Brandon, who had straight up just killed those innocent people he was helping, but now, he was trying to lay low with the Whisperers.

The best way to try and live at least a little after all the shit he had done was to go undercover. But this was the last thing he wanted to see.

Alpha had the two assholes who had tried to kill Lydia and Isabelle and two other people tied up and gagged after capturing them once they went over the property line by accident. They were all trying to scream, get help, but there was no one around. Negan almost broke his cover to try and save them – the two of the four people, honestly - but he would surely get caught and killed.

"What did I tell your leaders about crossing into my border?" she asked sinisterly. Negan felt the hairs on his neck stand on end at her threat, but there was nothing he could do. That fucker Beta had confiscated Lucille from him when he came into here. He was weaponless.

"We didn't cross into your border, Alpha," Alfred spat angrily. Alpha simply glared at him before calling for Beta and Gamma to come over, which they did.

"Gamma, I want you to bring the leaders of those communities to the border I made. I have a present for them," she said sadistically. Negan stared at her in horror as he realized what she intended on doing.

Before he could protest, she pulled out her machete and cut the woman's head off, blood spraying everywhere. She then turned to the teenage boy, who stared at her in horror. She smiled, a grin so menacing even death himself wouldn't want to tango with her.

She then cut his head off as well. He screamed as she did, before it was cut off suddenly, the deafening thud of the head hitting the cold ground all that he heard. The sounds would haunt Negan for the rest of his life.

"Now…let's show those people that we mean business," Alpha states angrily, grabbing the hair of the decapitated heads and taking them. Negan stared as she left with her top ranks, before looking down at the bodies.

This place was a whole other level of fucked-up.

* * *

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	8. Fear

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* * *

Daryl, Beth, and Michonne had been told by Gamma in secret that Alpha wanted to show them something at the border, and Daryl had a sick feeling in his stomach that what Alpha wanted them to see wasn't anything good. Isabelle insisted on going as soon as they were told to meet her, and even though Daryl protested, she said that she had to face her demons eventually and didn't feel safe with Daryl going without more people.

So he said yes like the bitch he was. And then of course once Isabelle said she was going, her whole ass family did. Although Daryl was grateful for the support, as were his two comrades, this felt more serious than anything else. And he had a feeling that Isabelle's family wasn't going to like what they saw.

They cautiously walked up the hill far from their home, only to see Alfred and Gage tied up to a tree, looking bloodied and bruised. But as Daryl looked on ahead at the border, he felt his stomach drop at seeing something new. As soon as he did, he swallowed back bile.

Andy and Scarlet's decapitated heads were on pikes and had turned. They growled and snarled at them. As he heard footsteps, he turned around to see Tammy running down the hill with Isabelle.

"No! No, don't look Tammy!" Will shouted pleadingly, running towards her but the damage was already done. Tammy froze at seeing her little brother's head on a pike.

"How did this happen?" Beth asked horrified. Daryl saw Alpha coming towards them from her side of the border, with multiple people backing her up.

"Why don't you ask those two men?"

They look over to see Alfred and Gage both passed out from the pain. Daryl felt sudden anger take over him. They had lured Scarlet and Andy out to screw with them, but Alpha had caught them near the border.

"They didn't cross it!" Michonne yells at them. Alpha's brow raises.

"Oh, did they? I told I took more land. You have less than ideal areas now. But they crossed over the new land I took with those two dead people. These heads now just mark more of the border," she hisses at them.

Isabelle steps forward, feeling herself grow numb. Scarlet's head chomps at her, trying to get a bite, and Isabelle felt a lone tear streak down her cheek.

Tammy was crying in Will's arms, looking away. Isabelle couldn't speak. James walked over, ready to kill, but Beth held him back. "It's what she wants you to do, don't!" she whispers fiercely into his ear.

He doesn't stop his angry expression, but he does stop his movements.

Alpha then suddenly looks over at Isabelle. And then her eyes raise in realization.

"You."

Isabelle looks up, and Alpha approaches her from her side of the border, walking right up to her face. Isabelle doesn't move. She stays exactly where she was. But she could feel herself shaking. Alpha stares at her directly in the eyes, not advancing towards her. Just staring.

"You fucking escaped. You were Beta's plaything and somehow you got out," she states. She suddenly reaches over and touches Isabelle's hair, soft and gentle, like a mother would, except this was no mother. This was nothing like that. "You always did have pretty hair."

"Get away from her."

Alpha looks over to see Daryl coming forward, not moving once Alpha turned her glare to him. "Why? She's our property. She was Beta's."

"She ain't a fucking piece of furniture. She's a human being. And ya hurt her." Considering she was shaking with fear, Daryl instead moved Isabelle behind him, not wanting her to be in the line of fire in case this turned even fucking messier than it already was. "Ya can hurt me, or anyone else here, but ya ain't hurtin' Isabelle no more."

Alpha stares him down, trying to see what he was getting at before she just chuckles and steps back. "You're pathetic. You're protecting a girl who can barely even protect herself. You'd do well with people like us if you stopped doing this."

"I ain't ever gonna wanna be with you," Daryl growls.

Alpha hums before turning back to Michonne. "This is the last warning. I only took land last time. This time, I took lives. Ya cross my border again, I am going to send much worse things. We are always watching."

At that point, they leave, all of them standing there in shock or anger. Daryl turns to Isabelle, who was as silent as the day he met her. He sighs and moves her away, but she shakes her head.

"No." She grabs her knife and then stabs it into the head of Scarlet, feeling the wall break and more tears flow. She then turns to Andy and stabs his head too. Both still. By the time she's done, she steps back and walks away. Daryl watches her leave before turning to Beth and Michonne.

She was yanking the tied down men from the tree, dragging them back. "We're going to have a word with these two."

_**~%~**_

When they got back to Alexandria that night, everything was quiet. Isabelle had gone up to her room without saying a word. Lydia had come out to ask what happened. Daryl had told her. Lydia had cried. Daryl held her.

The next morning, everything was sullen. Daryl had taken a walk around to see what was happening. He had talked to James, who revealed that Tammy was in the infirmary.

"Why?" he asked him.

"She tried to kill herself last night," James admitted to the archer, his voice so low no one else could hear. "Seeing her dead brother's head after all this time did some messed up shit. That was her only true family member left beside us and she took a knife and…well, you know the rest. I found her in time…brought her here."

Daryl had gone inside to see Tammy turned on her side, her head in the pillow. Beth had pulled him aside and confided in him that Tammy wasn't taking any pills, or talking to anyone.

"This is turning serious," she whispered.

Daryl had agreed and left, looking around for what else was happening. Michonne had locked Alfred and Gage in their homes, not allowing them to leave for the sake of the other people. Daryl also saw Will coming out of the cell where the Whisperer was, his hands bloody.

He walked into the house and slammed the door behind him. From how he was reacting, Daryl could tell that he wasn't happy with how this Whisperer was speaking to him.

Eventually, he made his way back to his home. He took off his shoes and then went upstairs. Lydia had left to talk with the little kids – Judith had wanted to learn how to wield a stick more. Isabelle, on the other hand, hadn't left her room.

Daryl quietly walks over and knocks on her door. "Belle?" he asks, trying to hear any sort of movement. "Ya in there?"

There's no response. Thinking back to Tammy, he goes to see if the door was opened, and luckily, it was. He gently creaks inside, looking around to see Isabelle on her bed, glancing outside. She glances over at him, and he sees she had been crying.

Her legs were to her chest, and she was holding them close to her body. Her head rested on top of her knees, still in the pajamas from the night before. Daryl sighs and walks over to her, sitting next to her.

"I'm so sorry this happened to yer family, Belle," he says to her, not really knowing how to start. How do you apologize for the beheading of a family member? You don't. "We didn't think somethin' like this would happen."

"It's not your fault, Daryl," she says, sniffling. "Really…don't blame yourself for something you couldn't have prevented. It was their choice to help out…they're just…gone. My cousin is gone. My best friend's brother is gone. And I'm just going to have to deal with it. People die all the time in this world…it shouldn't be a big deal…right?"

She turns to him, and for the first time in forever, he had seen she was crying incredibly hard. The tear streaks were there, and there were still tears clearly evident in her eyes. Daryl wordlessly takes her into his arms, and she cries into his shirt.

He had been taking care of Lydia for at least this long now. A crying person didn't affect him as much as it used to. But seeing Isabelle cry hurt a lot more.

"It doesn't make it any easier, Isabelle," he admits to her gently, rubbing her back. "No matter what, ya still lost someone close to ya. It's still going to hurt." She doesn't lift her head up, her arms wrapped around his center. She felt so tiny in his arms – she really needed to eat more.

He gently tilts her head up and she wipes away her tears, trying to compose herself. "I know…but I have to be strong and…"

"Belle, that woman was taunting yah. Usin' yer past against yah. And at the same time, ya saw yer family's heads…it's gonna fuck up yer head," he puts out bluntly. "She was pissed ya got out. That ya survived. So she was usin' that against ya…yer allowed to be angry. Yer allowed being scared."

She swallows and looks at the ground, wiping at her cheeks again. "I just…I hate feeling this way." She looks over at him. "We need…some sort of plan. Anything. I can't have her on my mind again. I can't have that tall fucking man on my mind again. I just…can't…they fucked me over so good and I…I…"

She was starting to breathe fast. Daryl stood up and walks over, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. "Breathe, Isabelle. It's alright. Don't freak out."

Isabelle takes a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. She looks up at him and then feels her shoulders drop. "We need a plan, Daryl. We need...to take them on or…something. I don't know."

Daryl looks down at her and then glances outside. "Will's been interrogating that Whisperer we caught a little while ago. Think he might be getting somewhere. We should join 'em while he's interrogating. Find out what's goin' on. When we find that out, then we can figure this all out."

Isabelle nods, looking down. She then gingerly takes Daryl's hand in hers.

"I'm sorry for being such a fucking burden."

Daryl stares down at her in shock at her words, before tilting her head up back towards his again. "Belle, yer lettin' her words get to ya again. Ya know how to protect yourself. Ya know all this shit. If ya didn't, ya wouldn't have survived out there by yourself."

"I only know how to use a knife and a bow and arrow," she whispers, shaking her head. "I barely know how to use a gun well. I'm not good at fighting. I feel so useless…they ruined me…"

"Then we'll train," Daryl states to her, gesturing outside. "I'll help ya get better. But don't think just cause ya don't know everythin' 'bout survival it makes ya a burden. Ya've been hurt and you're recoverin'. Besides, ya make people happy. Lydia loves ya, can ask her anytime. Judith thinks yer cool. Yer whole family is here…Sides, I'm gettin' used to ya bein' here, so don't suddenly wanna go on me."

Isabelle smiles a little at that, but then sighs, removing her hand from his. The loss of heat felt weird, but Daryl shook it off. "You promise me you'll train me?"

"On my mamma's grave."

Isabelle nods. "Fine…let's go to where the Whisperer is. I wanna know what's happening."

_**~%~**_

After Isabelle changed, the two went to where Will was interrogating the Whisperer, joining him downstairs in the cell. They found the man with bruised knuckles, and the Whisperer tied up against the wall, spitting blood from his mouth.

"Will," Daryl states, moving forward. Will glances up. "We all gotta work together to make this fucker talk. I know yer angry, but we can help."

Will said nothing but nodded, and wiped his bruised knuckles. The Whisperer glared at them all fearfully. It was clear to Daryl that this woman was breaking after five hours of interrogation, but he knew that Daryl needed to do just that little extra to make her talk.

Daryl opened up the cell, walked in, and suddenly slammed the woman against the wall. Her head hit the hard concrete with a thud, and Isabelle could see the blood coming down from her forehead. She yelled out in pain, but Daryl didn't move a single bit of his stance, glaring at her.

"Ya tell us what yer group's been up too, and what they're planning, then we'll make yer death quick. Lie to us, and yer gonna end wishing that ya were dead," Daryl warned menacingly, causing the woman to break out in a sweat.

"I'll tell you everything, I swear to God that I will!" she swore. "Just please don't kill me!"

Daryl glares at her, his eyes trying to find some kind of lie, but she seemed to be telling the truth. Daryl dropped the woman to the ground, glaring at her, but within seconds, she began telling them everything. She told the. how it was Alpha who had cut down the tree and sent it crashing into the gates around Hilltop.

How Gamma, one of the main people behind Alpha, had contaminated Alexandria's water supply by killing a walker and spilling its guts into the water reserve, and how Aaron had given Gamma a bandage to heal her.

How Alpha really had sent those walkers in waves, and had made their lives a living hell for days.

Everything had been because of them.

Daryl looks over at Isabelle, who looked fearful of what the woman was talking to. They were going to have some conversations with some of the others.

* * *

_Well everyone can't be alive, can they? _

_Thank you guys for reading and don't forget to follow, favorite and leave a review to let me know what you think! I'll be getting another chapter up in a couple of days. Happy New Year and I hope you guys have a great day :)_


	9. Fighting Back

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* * *

Michonne was furious when she found out Aaron had given a bandage to Gamma, and she wasn't the only one. Laura was giving Aaron the silent treatment, and Nora stared at him as if he was stupid.

Even so, that honestly wasn't the biggest of their issues. Alden had gathered people into the schoolhouse, seeing most of the leaders there. Michonne sat down next to him, looking up at the mistaken face man.

"Connie has something to tell us, along with Kelly," Alden said somberly, glancing at the two sisters. "She came here with me to deliver the news on Ezekiel yesterday."

Kelly swallowed hard. It was obvious she felt terrible for what she and Magna had done. She turns to Michonne and looks at the ground, before speaking.

"It was me and Magna. You heard about the food from Hilltop...we stole the food. Magna didn't trust any of you still, so...we stole the food and hid it. Connie and Daryl didn't know anything about it," Kelly confessed shamefully, feeling her sister's eyes on her that were full of anger and frustration.

She and Magna had fucked up.

Michonne didn't know what to say, but it was obvious she was seething. Earl, who had traveled with them as well, pointed out something. "Since Maggie will be coming back here tomorrow morning after some talks, I recommend that you two be exiled from Hilltop and sent to Alexandria. Connie, Luke, and Yumiko can still stay there," Earl voted. Everyone nodded.

Kelly looked at Connie for support, but she didn't say anything to her, looking at the ground. Life had changed drastically, and now they just had to deal with it. But going behind people's backs was _not_ the answer.

**_~%~_**

The next day when Daryl and Isabelle traveled to Hilltop with the others to talk about what to do, they watched silently as Yumiko threw out Magna's things, completely ignoring her. Magna was trying to talk to her, but Yumiko wasn't having any of it. She was angry. Rightfully so for doing what she did.

"I think Magna burned her bridges with the others, Daryl," Isabelle said quietly. Daryl sighs and shakes his head as they headed inside the house.

"They shouldn't have done what they did…she's just gonna have to deal with it," Daryl states. "Ain't right."

Isabelle glances up at him. "You ever experience that?" He raises a brow at her questionably. "A relationship in this world, I mean."

Daryl snorts and shakes his head. "Nah…love is too complicated for this shit world."

She bites her lip and shrugs. "I still find it sweet."

Daryl rolls his eyes and sighs, before patting her back. "I know, and that's why people like ya."

Isabelle smiles a little before they walk inside to the conference room with most of the others. Michonne and Cyndie had come up with a plan to take out the large hoard of walkers that Alpha had and were going to destroy it.

As they spoke, Aaron laid out the plan and glances at the others.

"Who's the fastest in Isabelle's family?" Aaron asked quietly. Michonne was still very angry at him for giving Gamma a bandage, even though she had nearly poisoned their water supply. But even Isabelle could tell that it was going away slowly. She wouldn't trust the man with the plans if she wasn't forgiving him.

"That would be Will. He used to work in the bomb disposal unit in the army. He's fast, and he knows how to make all kinds of bombs. He's not stupid. Seen some cool shit from him," Daryl said wisely.

Aaron nods. "Alright, then Will's gonna be our front guy. Hope he's as quick as you say."

Daryl nodded in acceptance, and the plan was set up.

**_~%~_**

Maggie wasn't expecting an extremely warm welcome, but everyone was looking relieved and happy that Maggie and Hershel Jr. had come back to help them when they had talked over the radio. When she had heard of the shitty circumstances they had gone through, she couldn't let them be alone.

Her first matter of business was overseeing Magna and Kelly being sent to Alexandria. The two of them had confessed to stealing food so they could run away.

And even if she was just back here for the first time in years, she wasn't going to let that stand. And neither was anyone else. She would fight with them, until the bitter end.

**~%~**

Will had been busy sneaking into the border that marked Alpha's territory once they had told him the plan. Slowly, he rigged up traps for their herd and her fellow Whisperers. He'd skinned a walker, so he could blend in without any problems, moving quickly and quietly. His old training had helped him get to this point.

He just hoped that it could help him get passed it.

After setting up the last trap, he snuck into an abandoned music store and started playing music. He saw walkers stumbling towards the noise, and got the hell out of there. As soon as he was a little bit away, he could hear some explosions and knew that at least some of the walkers had exploded.

It was a start. And it was better than nothing.

He yanked the Whisperer mask off, grimacing at the smell and splashed water over his face before mounting his horse. He nudged him and started riding back to Alexandria.

**_~%~_**

When Isabelle got back to Alexandria with Daryl, she and Beth had gone to check on Rosita, who seemed to be doing better. She was up and breathing, and drinking water. Sidiqq still talked on how they could be doing more, but Rosita would say it's alright and that they were doing the best they could. For the time being, Coco was being taken care of by Sidiqq and some of the others.

Later on, Daryl had headed over to where Will was working on his gun, trying to tighten a mechanism on the trigger. He nudges his shoulder and the veteran looks up at the archer.

"The traps all set?" Daryl asked quietly as they stood there. Will nodded.

"These walkers…there's a fuck ton of them, Daryl. I really don't know how we're going to be able to take them all down...but we gotta try."

Daryl nods his head and looks over at Isabelle, who was quiet. "We're gonna be able to," he reassures her, seeing the slight hint of fear in her eyes.

Isabelle offers a quiet smile at him before leaving the area, heading back to where Beth was. Daryl turns to Will, who was quiet.

"Are ya alright?" the archer asks. Will sighs and looks over at him.

"Honestly? I could be doing...this whole entire shit show has just proved to be a bigger mess than it already was before, but I know it's what we have to do…I just wish Isabelle hadn't been involved with it originally. The idea that she was hurt during this really pisses me off and I wish I had been there for her."

Daryl nods his head quietly. "I get it…I wanna hurt 'em too for what they did to her."

Will raises an eyebrow before glancing over at Isabelle, who was speaking quietly to Beth. He turns back to the archer. "You and Isabelle…you two a thing?"

Daryl blinks once, twice, before realizing what he was saying, and then shakes his head. "Nah, nothin' like that…she's just a friend…just tryna' lookout for her. She was in a bad way when I found her…took a little bit for her to even talk again, let alone be around all these people. Don't want that to happen to someone again."

Will nods his head slowly, before grabbing at Daryl's shoulder. "We'll get through this. Somehow."

Daryl nods and watches the man head back to where he stayed with Tammy and James. He glances over at Isabelle, who took Coco into her arms. Beth laughs as Coco giggles at Isabelle, pulling at her light hair. Sidiqq had decided to help Rosita for a bit so the girls looked after her for the time being.

For some reason, the first thought that came into his head was how natural it looked for her to be with a baby. Maybe she was a mother in a past life...maybe one even now.

"Shut the fuck up," he mutters to himself, pushing those thoughts out. That was the last thing he needed. All that he needed to do right now was focus on their goal, and take down those fuckers.

It was personal, now more than ever. And he was going to make sure their lives were protected, once and for all.

* * *

_Maggie's back, because I miss her and love her lol_

_Thanks for reading and don't forget to follow, favorite and review to let me know what you think. Everything always makes my day. Love you all :)_


	10. Sickness

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* * *

The next day, Daryl went out on a trip early in the morning to go to Hilltop to really speak with Maggie for the first time. He knew that she was dealing with the thefts that had happened there, but he still wanted to see her to make sure she was doing alright after all these years.

Except for this time, Isabelle had decided to come with him again. He had insisted on her staying, saying it wasn't safe for her to be coming out. She had fought back at him and said that if she didn't get training through him, one way or another she would get out and try and learn herself.

So his fear got over his stubbornness, and he let her come along.

Along the way, she and he talked about little things. And as they did walk, he realized that there was very little he really did know about her. He knew her story of the world now, but not of her likes or dislikes. Who she was as a person. Everything like that.

And what was weird was that he actually wanted to know. He wanted to know more about her and see who she was. Usually, he couldn't give two shits about a person and who they were, as long as they were on his side. But with her, he really wanted to know.

"So, uh," he starts out randomly, glancing around the area as the horse trotted. "Where are ya all from? What did ya do before this?"

Isabelle smiles gently and sighs, thinking back to happier memories. "Well, we were a family living in the Bronx." At his raised brow, she chuckles. "Yes, even though we look put together, we all grew up in probably one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country…my mom and dad…they weren't moneymakers and they weren't perfect, but they tried their hardest. For a long time, we stayed there. It was home. My brothers went off to join the army and me? Well, I tried to stay at home, go to college…and I did at a price."

Daryl's brow furrows. "What ya talkin' 'bout?"

Isabelle blushes, and out of everything she could blush about, that was the one thing he wasn't expecting to see: her blush about her past. She turns to him and bites her lip, before sighing. "I'll tell you…but promise me you won't tell anyone else?"

Whatever it was, it clearly was something that had changed her life. So, Daryl quietly shook his head. "Swear."

She nods and sighs, glancing around, before looking back down at the horse. "So, um…I was really good in high school, right? I had a high GPA and got decent SAT scores. I applied to go to NYU, and due to where I lived, I got in. They wanted more diverse people from all of the boroughs, so they brought me in. But, uh…I wasn't really rich enough to go. At that point, my parent's were both gone…they died in a car crash not too long before my high school graduation."

"'m sorry," Daryl states quietly. Isabelle shakes her head.

"It's alright…it's been long enough and they're both partying it up with Elvis or something," she chuckles before looking back at him. "I wanted to go to NYU to find ways I could help people. My family was in the army, and that's the best way you could help the country, but I wanted my own way. So…I decided to major in Pre-Med, with the idea of becoming a doctor in the future." Daryl smiles a bit, and she tilts her head. "What?"

"Nothin', I can just see it. Ya'd be good as a doctor."

"Well…thanks." She smiles and sighs, before shaking her head. "Except I wasn't really smart enough to get a full scholarship…they held those for, like, the really smart ones and the foreign exchange students. So I needed to find a way to make money – a lot of it – in a short amount of time to pay back the money I had on my name."

Daryl's brow furrows. "Did ya sell drugs or some shit?"

"What?! No," she instantly states. "No, I never did that…didn't stem into 'Breaking Bad' territory. But I, uh…did some side work that did pay well."

Daryl didn't say anything. He couldn't really think of what she was referring to. "If it was somethin' bad, I ain't gonna judge ya for it." Isabelle bites her lip and doesn't speak before she mumbles something under her breath. His brow furrows. "What was that?" She mumbles louder. "Belle, I-"

"I was a stripper!" she snaps, clearly annoyed.

His brow raises, and his mouth drops. "Oh. Wow."

"Fuck, now you're judging me," she mutters, shaking her head.

"No, stop," he states, moving up to her as she rides her horse quicker. "Belle, I ain't judgin' ya for anythin'. My brother himself was a drug dealer. I dealt with stupid shit my whole life. I ain't one to talk." He shakes his head and chuckles. "Just, uh…the idea of you as a stripper ain't one I would have thought of."

She raises an eyebrow. "Why? You don't think I'm pretty enough?"

"Fuck, didn't say that. Yer gorgeous." He suddenly realizes what he said and felt his cheeks go red. Isabelle blushes too but laughs. "I mean, I-fuckin' puttin' my foot in my mouth. Belle, I didn't say ya didn't have the look. I just didn't think ya had…I don't know, the confidence or whatever. I've seen strippers that just…ya know."

Isabelle snorts and nods her head. "I know…but that was a long time ago. Back then, I was confident. Now? A scarred and cut mess? Kinda hard to be."

Daryl glances at her and nudges her shoulder with his hand. "It ain't. Yer still just a gorgeous now as ya were back then."

She blushes even harder. "You haven't even seen me back then."

"Don't have to to know. Scars or not, every damn guy stares at ya all the time." 'Me included,' his mind states to him, but he shakes that away. "Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see it."

Isabelle smiles and glances ahead. "Didn't know you were a romancer, Daryl."

"I ain't. Just speaking the truth."

She smiles and looks back at him. "So, you had a brother?"

Daryl sighs. "Yeah…Merle. The guy was an asshole, but he was my asshole. We were in it together for a long time…had a shit stain for a dad and a mom who got sick…didn't have much growin' up, but we had each other for a bit. He got killed a long time ago by someone who went against our group."

"I'm sorry," she states.

"Like ya said, don't be. Was a long time ago."

She tilts her head and looks at the road again. "So, what happened with your group? You seem to know them for a long time."

Daryl looks over at her, thinking about his past. Her blue eyes search him as if looking for the answers to who he was now. So instead, he speaks them to her and tells her about everything. From the moment he met Rick, to the farm, to the prison, to him losing his brother, nearly losing Beth, them finding Alexandria, and how Negan almost ruined their lives.

He talked about the torture he went through, how losing Glenn felt like his fault, how they all came together, in the end, to try and build a better world for themselves. And how now, they're more of a community than they've ever been. How losing Rick has nearly destroyed them, and how they built themselves back up.

By the time he was done talking, they had arrived at Hilltop, and she had listened to everything. They got off their horses once the gates were opened for them, and Isabelle turned to him. "I gotta say…your group is like family. I'm happy you found a new one after everything you went through."

Daryl manages a quiet smile – he seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "Yeah…I am, too."

"Been a shit show," she admits. He snorts.

"Yeah, that too."

At that moment, Maggie comes out. She smiles at Daryl and runs over, hugging him tightly. Hershel Jr. peaks his head out and comes over. Maggie pulls back and smiles at him.

"It's great to see you again, Daryl…still need a haircut." Daryl scoffs and smiles at Hershel Jr. "Hershel, this is Daryl, an old friend of Mommy's." Hershel waves, and Daryl waves back. The kid was probably eight, not too much younger than Judith. He had Glenn's features.

"Good to see ya, kid. Remember when ya were this small," he states, his hands shrinking to the size of a baby. "Grow up a lot since then."

Maggie chuckles a bit. "Yes, he has." She turns to Daryl. "Magna and Kelly were off this morning…they were being ignored by the rest of their group. Left in an angry mood, sad too. They might be aggravated when they get to Alexandria."

Daryl shrugs. "It ain't nothin'. Probably gonna stay here a bit with Isabelle, help out with the crops. Heard it's been harder."

"Has been. We could use all the help we can get with this war happening here..." She turns to Isabelle. "I don't think we've formally met, and since you're going to be helping us the next couple of days, might as well. I'm Maggie."

Isabelle extends a hand, smiling. "I'm Isabelle," she states, her voice soft. "I've heard a lot of stories about you from Beth."

Maggie's face softened at the mention of Beth. She had missed her baby sister but was so proud of the woman that she had become during the last seven years. She was excited to see her again.

"It's nice to meet you, Isabelle. I've heard a lot of good stories about you from the radio as well," Maggie said kindly. They walked towards the main house and started talking to Earl and Alden about which parts of the gates needed to be reinforced once they met them at the doors.

"The east and south walls took the worst breaches. If we reinforce them, then Whisperers will have a harder time trying to break them down," Alden explained seriously. "It's going to take a good amount of time, though." Maggie nodded in understanding.

"The Whisperers rely on melee weapons, but they have at least three guns. Alpha has a shotgun. Sometimes, they use bows and arrows, but rarely. If the walls are secure enough, you might be okay. Their main weapon is the herd," Isabelle said warningly.

Everyone nodded and got to work, quickly making preparations for any attacks for those people who slithered in the dark.

They needed to make sure that no matter what, they were prepared.

_**~%~**_

The crops were harvested before winter arrived, and now they at least had some food to last them a little while longer before the real cold set in again. Daryl along with Maggie helped reinforce the walls day by day with more wood and bolts. Isabelle helped out as much as she could with her arm, with Daryl teaching her more about how to build up the security.

Connie and Yumiko helped them out as well, and Luke was at Oceanside. Magna and Kelly were being given the silent treatment by a good amount of people for stealing the food.

Not even Beth or Tammy were speaking to them much. Yumiko didn't ask about Magna, but Magna did when Daryl and Isabelle returned to Alexandria a few days later.

"Is she with someone else?" Magna had asked. Daryl had frowned at her in disapproval. They had more important things to worry about than Magna thinking that Yumiko was already moving on from her.

"She ain't seeing anyone, Magna. She, Maggie and Connie are selecting a new council seeing as Jesus and Tara have been gone; they need a real leader," he said. "Ya gotta think of bigger picture shit."

Magna looked away as everyone in the community went on their way. Daryl glanced around to see more and more people helping with the walls at Alexandria too. No matter what, they would make it through this.

Somehow.

_**~%~**_

Isabelle had relearned how to shoot a gun again over the next couple of days. Daryl had woken her up early and took her out, using target practice. She had to admit, after all this time of not using this type of weapon, she was surprised at how quickly she picked it up. But at the time, picking something up quickly was the best way to survive.

She even admitted that the Whisperers had made her forget how to use it, to adapt to their way of life, which is why she couldn't remember. Daryl couldn't imagine being told to forget how to use a weapon. He hoped he never had to experience it.

At this point during the day, she was now keeping an eye on Coco for Sidiqq again. He was trying to make sure she still was taken care of while he helped with the patients.

She felt sad about everything that had happened recently. Tammy sat down next to her on the porch. Since Coco was still on milk, one of the other women was using a breast pump to give milk to her so Rosita could rest.

The little girl was a fighter. She was snuggled up in her bassinet looking content and fast asleep. Dog was sniffing at her, along with one of the community cats.

It had been quiet, so far. Daryl and Carol had come back eventually with another Whisperer that was handcuffed and gagged. They'd been stealthily taking out the Whisperers that were sending large hoards of walkers to Alexandria, Hilltop and Oceanside.

"I wish the fight would happen already…this tension is unbearable and people are getting agitated," Tammy whispered tiredly. Isabelle nodded in agreement.

She just hoped that none of them got killed in the process. She knew it was wishful thinking, but she wanted to have faith.

**_~%~_**

It felt like everyone was waiting for a bomb to go off. Negan could see Alpha and Beta becoming more alert at the news that more of the Whisperers that had been sent to lead groups of walkers to Alexandria, Hilltop and Oceanside had been captured.

But what really got Alpha pissed off was when Gamma didn't come back. A part of him was hoping that Daryl, Carol or Michonne had killed the sadistic bitch.

Or she'd been eaten alive by walkers.

The bridge that the Whisperers usually crossed was blocked by a large number of fallen trees after a storm, so instead, they headed in a different direction.

He watched with genuine interest as they walked into an abandoned town that was devoid of everything. Not even feral dogs or cats were around. One of the Whisperers suddenly tripped over barbed wire and blew himself and ten other fellow Whisperers up, the nail bomb tearing their bodies apart. Everyone yelled or fell back, staring in shock and going in different directions throughout the area.

The whole damn town had to be booby-trapped.

He kept his expression neutral, but damn was he impressed by their strategies. They were already making a dent in the Whisperers numbers.

These people weren't fucking around.

**_~%~_**

Daryl kept his hand steadily on the trigger as he saw Alpha and the Whisperers walking near the last trap they had set up. At least five boxes filled up with Molotov cocktails that would take out a few of the group's numbers were waiting, perched above them.

He pulled back and fired at the target, keeping low. He heard cries, shouts, and screams of pain echoing from the street. Fire danced in the air as he saw two Whisperers running around trying to put themselves out, catching sight of Beta as they did.

He was very tempted to shoot him but restrained himself. Instead of initiating anything, he began making his way back to the Alexandria community. It was starting to rain, but some of the Whisperers were still on fire. The last thing he wanted was to be seen by them in this compromising situation.

As he ran back, he came across another town with an old bookstore. Off the top of his head, he could remember that Isabelle had told Daryl that she loved reading books, especially 'Harry Potter.'

Quietly, he went inside the abandoned store and walked all the way to the back section where a very faded sign of 'Harry Potter' stood. He glances over and grabs a bunch of them putting them in his bag. He hoped that despite this bullshit she was going through, maybe these books would help.

On his way out, he got some other books as well, on farming, self-sustained water, food, and books on medicine and how to build weapons. At least some of this would be helpful – might as well make the best use out of it.

Once the book store was cleared out, he got back on the bike, and drove back to Alexandria, leaving the bullshit behind him.

**_~%~_**

When Daryl got back into the gate, Isabelle and Tammy let him in, but they were wearing masks over their mouths and noses. Before he could ask what was going on, he could see them guiding people to the infirmary. It took him only a moment to realize that people were very sick, and it might be contagious.

He made a move to go help, but Will quietly drew him away with a shake of his head. He could see Lydia and Gracie being guided to the infirmary. Both of them were coughing.

"What the hell is going on, Will?" he asked quietly, trying to keep the panic out of his voice, but failing miserably.

"One of the gardeners, Lila…she came down with this bug. We think it might be the same thing Rosita has," Will admits quietly to him. "Michonne and the council said there would be a quarantine for sick people," Will explained seriously.

Daryl looked worriedly at where Lydia was being screened, and her temperature was being taken.

"Is everythin' alright?" he asks the young girl. She shrugs her shoulders and sighs, coughing a little.

"I feel okay…but I'm not healthy. I don't feel like I'm ready to do anything right now," she admits, looking up at him.

Daryl places a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it. The last thing he wanted was for Lydia of all people to die because of a fucking sickness. Even she was too stubborn for that. But that didn't mean he wasn't worried as all hell.

Suddenly, there was a drop from behind him. Daryl spins around to see Isabelle, lying on the ground, unconscious. He instantly runs over but Dante stops him and picks her up himself.

"What's wrong with her?!" he yells as he carries her away. Beth comes over and rests her hands against his chest, trying to calm him down.

"Daryl, breathe," she says to him softly.

"How the fuck am I supposed to breathe when-"

"She probably got exposed to the virus another way, Daryl. These things happen." She looks up at him and sees the worried look in his eyes. Quietly, she takes his hands in hers and tries to give him the best look she can. "Daryl, she fainted. That happens all the time. We're going to run some tests on her and see how she reacts. You need to take a deep breath and just let this go and let us work."

Daryl swallows, trying to find the right words to say, before begrudgingly nodding his head. "Fine…just take care of her."

"Don't worry, we will." Beth squeezes his hand and races back into the infirmary. Daryl himself sat against his bike, running a hand through his messy hair.

He just couldn't seem to catch a break.

* * *

_Backstory, meetings and drama, oh my!_

_Thank you for reading and let me know what you think! Thanks for everything and have a good day :)_


	11. Together Alone

_Hey everyone. thanks for the reviews from DarylDixon'sLover and all the new follows and favorites. Hope you enjoy this chapter :)_

* * *

It seemed like hours until he could see her again.

It wasn't that Daryl hadn't been keeping himself busy. He had been helping with Beth, trying to get people in and out of the infirmary as much as possible, while also making sure Lydia was okay and keeping a constant eye on her.

But it wasn't until nighttime when Beth had told him Isabelle's condition had stabled, and that she was okay to be seen. Daryl had headed into the room behind her to see Isabelle fast asleep on the bed, but her face seemed cold and devoid of the usual rosy cheeks she had.

Daryl takes a seat next to her and Beth bites her lip from the doorway. "I wouldn't suggest staying too long, Daryl."

"I'm just lookin' out for her," he admits, glancing at the blonde. "She fainted. She needs someone here."

Beth shrugs her shoulders and sighs. "Suit yourself, archer." She closes the door after that, leaving the two of them alone. Daryl glances over at the girl and then quietly moves the blanket so it was tighter around her shivering body.

He sat there for a few minutes in silence, contemplating how this had all happened. The poor girl had just been trying to help and because of it, she ended up getting sick herself. That seemed to be the go-to with Belle.

She helped people, even if it meant it was going to hurt her. And that really pissed him off. How is it that one person could be so selfless that they forget to take care of themselves?

"Damn dumbass," he mutters, leaning back in the chair.

But what Daryl didn't expect was that he would fall asleep in that very chair, watching over her until the next morning, when the early rays of winter were just starting to peek through the curtains of the dusty window.

**_~%~_**

When Isabelle opened her eyes the next morning, the first thing she felt was an aching headache. The last thing she remembered was that she suddenly felt very faint while taking care of one of the children and then everything went black.

Her eyes looked around the room half-asleep until they landed on a chart that was right next to her bed. She reaches out and takes it into her hands until she reads the temperature she had previously. Her eyes widen at the number. 104 degrees.

"Jesus," she mumbles, shaking her head. It was no wonder she had fainted. She had been sick. In all honesty, she still felt not so good right now, but nowhere near as bad as she had felt yesterday.

She places the chart down and turns around to see someone sleeping in the chair next to the bed. Upon further inspection, she could see it was Daryl who was there, his head hanging, his arms crossed against his chest.

At that moment, she took a second to admire him in his sleep. It was crazy how a rough guy like Daryl, who always looked like he low key wanted to kill something whenever he touched it, could look so peaceful in his sleep. But it was very possible because it was right there.

His hair hung in his eyes and his body was so much more relaxed than the normal stiffness that he acquired. It suited him, but she knew this was a state that he was rarely in. Fully relaxed.

Even so, she had to admit that looking at him now, he was much more handsome than she had seen before. Don't get her wrong, getting in relationships was something she wasn't really into in this world, especially after everything she had gone through with the Whisperers.

But that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate a nice looking guy every now and then.

The archer's eyes drizzled open and he looks around sleepily, before landing on Isabelle. He straightens himself out and nods at her. "Yer awake," he says quietly.

"I am, and I can see you stayed all night," she teases.

He rolls his eyes. "Shuddup. Stayed cause I was worried. Happy?" he asks her, walking to her side. "Scared the shit outta me and some of the others. Fainted right in front of us. Thought ya were bein' more careful."

She sighs and shrugs her shoulders. "I thought I was too, but shit just happened. I feel a lot better now though…especially knowing I had a 'big, strong man looking over me,'" she teases again. Daryl snorts and shakes his head, looking away. "Hey, I'm only teasing. I really do appreciate it."

She reaches over and takes his hand in hers, squeezing it gently. Daryl responds with his own squeeze, although barley there, and then pulls back a moment later.

"While I was out, got something for ya. Was gonna give it to ya when I got back but then ya…well, ya know."

Daryl reaches over and grabs his bag, before handing it to her. Isabelle's brow furrows as she reaches inside and pulls out books upon books, most of which were on survival and gardening skills so she could learn. But it was the ones at the bottom and caused her to smile brightly.

"Harry Potter!" she yells out, grabbing all seven books practically at once. "Aw, Daryl…you didn't have to find these for me."

He shrugs a bit, but she could see a hint of blush on his cheeks. "Ya said ya liked it. Thought I would get 'im while I was out. Give ya somethin' to do."

She grins and nods her head. "It will…I love these." She turns her smile to him and then gently leans over, before giving him a soft peck on the cheek. His beard was stubbly against her lips but she didn't mind. He stiffened at her touch but looked over at her afterward.

"What was that for?" he mumbles.

"Thank you. For this...these really are amazing."

Daryl nods quietly. "Well…yer welcome." He gets up after that and heads over to the door. Before he leaves, he turns to her and bites his thumb. "Get better quickly. We miss ya."

Isabelle chuckles a little. "I'll try."

After that, he nods and leaves, leaving her alone. She looks down at the Harry Potter books and then back at the door, before resting her head against the pillow. Quietly, she opens the first book and dives right back into the series she had loved reading as a child.

But she knew a certain archer was going to be on the back of her mind all day.

**_~%~_**

Over the next couple of weeks, it was a constant flow of work towards all the inhabitants of the zone. Everyone was trying to make weapons as quick as possible for a war with the Whisperers if they decided to attack early. The people who had been sick were healing. Lydia was out of quarantine, and so was Isabelle. Some people were still sick, so they were trying to find out what was causing it. So far, they hadn't been able to find anything, but they wouldn't stop looking until they did.

Daryl had to admit that he had gotten used to the quiet girl. She had taken up space in his and Lydia's home and provided a much-needed escape from the hectic shit that happened outside their walls. A few nights after she had gotten out, she had even made dinner for them.

Even though it had just been pasta and butter from the cows, he still felt thankful that it had been someone else taking care of them for once. She had said it was in thanks. Lydia had been okay with it as long as she ate, and Daryl had laughed.

After that, Daryl had noticed that she would talk with them a lot. Not as much as the others, but around him and Lydia, she would speak about her past, her likes and hobbies; really anything. She was slowly becoming more open. It made him feel good that she trusted them so willingly, but a part of him was still stressed that someone would use that to their advantage.

Eventually, she had come up with the idea that more people should take self-defense classes so they know how to protect themselves even if they didn't have a weapon. Within the next couple of days, they had been setting up classes for people to take, with Daryl often using Isabelle as a volunteer to show people what they needed to do.

Each time she learned something new, she impressed him. But at the same time, there was this voice in the back of his head that was saying someone was going to hurt her. Beta was going to come back. He would end them.

But Daryl knew he couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't. There wasn't a chance.

Early on one morning, he could see Isabelle had gone outside to practice, and her stance was great. She had all the moves down and seemed okay, and the fact that she was practicing made him even more grateful to have someone like her helping him. But before he could commend her on what she was doing, the doors suddenly opened to the safe zone.

Both turn their heads over and see Will and Tammy dragging two Whisperers into the zone with them, blood on their faces. The two had been charged with changing the water supply for the zones due to the virus' that had happened, but it seemed they had run into some trouble along the way.

"Will, Tammy, what happened?" Isabelle asks, running over. Daryl does the same, seeing how one of the Whisperers seemed passed out.

"We caught these fuckers outside pouring shit to lure walkers here," Will growls, dropping them to the ground. "I say we kill them right now." Daryl raises a hand to calm him down before glancing at the two people.

He then sinks down to their level. "How did ya know about the shit happenin' here?" he asks them. They don't speak. "Alright, if ya don't fucking tell me, I can assure ya yer death ain't gonna be fucking pretty. Tell me. **_Now_**!" he snaps, practically spitting on the awake Whisperer.

That seemed to have broken him, and the guy begins to talk, sweat running down his forehead.

"We were sent by Alpha to keep on luring walkers here...make more trouble...more than ever...you'll never know...we are everywhere," The Whisperer said sullenly, glaring at the archer.

Michonne nodded at him. Daryl turned to look at the other Whisperer and pulled her mask off, but it was just another Whisperer. Not Gamma, the one Aaron had talked about. Daryl sighs and looks to Michonne, who nods again. The others brought out the other Whisperers, and brought them all down to the cell, not even risking having them put somewhere else.

Once they were gone, Daryl turns to Isabelle, who was quiet.

"Ya okay?" he asks her gently.

She bites her lip and nods, before turning to him. "Yeah, I'm good."

After that, she leaves and heads off back to the house, closing the door behind her once she was inside. Daryl sighs and walks after her.

Why did he have a bad feeling about all of this?

_**~%~**_

Over the next couple of hours, Daryl hadn't heard anything from Isabelle. She had been staying in her room for the time being, and it felt strange. Usually, when it came to the girl, after something like this, she talked about the Whisperers, or whatever she felt about the situation.

But this time, she was quiet.

He had decided to take the time to rest on the outside, glancing at people as they passed. Lydia had gone to train, so it was just him and Dog relaxing next to him.

The animal had been taking more breaks lately, due to the craziness that had been happening, but Daryl didn't blame him. If he was doing as much tracking as the dog had been doing, he would want a break too.

While he was lost in his thoughts, the front door opened. He turns his head to see Isabelle come out with her bow, and a knife in her holster. His brow furrows as she walks down the stairs, and he stands up, heading after her. "Hey, what're ya doin'?" he asks her lowly.

He grabs her arm and she turns to him. "I'm just heading out…gonna do some patrols."

Daryl's brow furrows as he glances at her, and then around the sidewalk. He didn't see anyone looking at them, but he always felt like someone was watching. Daryl quietly pulls her aside, to the other end of the house, before turning to her. "The hell ya think yer doin'? 'Goin' on patrol?' Isabelle, ya ain't done anythin' by yerself here, let alone go on patrol. What's goin' on?"

She bites her lip and takes a deep breath, glancing at the ground. "Look." She looks back at him and then nods back towards the group near the front. "I feel horrible for what's been happening, Daryl."

His brow furrows. "What do ya mean?"

"The Whisperers keep trying to take us down from the inside-out, whether it's through sending herds to take down the walls or something else. It's slowly eating away at you all until you can't fight anymore. I hate to talk about her _and...him..._but Alpha and Beta are smart. Smarter than a lot of people give them credit for what they do…I'm partially deaf, not blind…I understand what's going on with Carol…I can see the pain she feels."

"Ya have barely spoken to her."

"You don't need to speak to someone to understand the pain they are going through," Isabelle states softly. "It's in the way she talks to others, walks, interacts…you don't need to have 20/20 vision to see that. And I'm sick of it. Lydia feels horrible about being here…but I feel even worse. The main reason they haven't even attacked fully is that the two of us are here…but if I leave, then I can-"

"Isabelle, ya ain't leaving," he states, his voice leaving no room for negotiation.

"Daryl-"

"Isabelle, if ya think I'm lettin' ya go out there on yer own, yer fuckin' insane. Ya ain't fuckin' goin' anywhere," he growls.

She looks up at him, trying to get through what she was trying to say, but her mind was fuzzy. She looks at the ground, and then back at him. "I'm not trying to leave, Daryl. I love this place. I love being here. I've never felt safer than I do here. But…someone needs to look for this herd. To figure out what we need to do to stop it. If I'm not here, you're out of at least the danger of me being here. I want to help and I'm sick of just…sitting inside and playing house…I've gotten sick and done nothing…I feel useless. I want to go out there and do shit."

Daryl sighs. "Belle, ya've done a lot-"

"But not enough," she interrupts. "Please, Daryl. Let me do this."

The way she was looking at him was hard to say no to. She had so much hope in her eyes and her lip was quivering like she would cry if he said no. Honestly, he shouldn't have been keeping her. She was a grown woman with her own life. He didn't control her. But she was his responsibility ever since bringing her in, and the last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt.

Or worse, bit.

Daryl looks down at her, biting the tip of his thumb. He glances at the gate, and then at her again, before letting out a deep breath. "Yer right. Carol ain't in a good place. A lot of people aren't. But I'm still not lettin' ya go out there alone. We go together."

Isabelle's brow raises. "Really? What about Lydia?"

"She can handle herself for the time being. She ain't a little kid. Ya need someone to watch yer back out there. I'll let people know, and we'll grab some stuff and go together."

Isabelle nods quietly before offering a soft smile. "Thank you, Daryl."

"Just don't get bit."

She snorts and nods.

Within a couple of minutes, he grabs a pack of supplies, both saying they were going out hunting to her family and to the others, before the two of them head off towards the gate, weapons in their hands.

* * *

**xX AUTHORS NOTE Xx**

Hey everyone. So if you noticed in the beginning of the chapter I didn't seem too thrilled and honestly, it's because I've just been going through a lot lately. School has been kicking my ass and the future seems really bleak right now because life after college is a scary thought but writing has been a coping mechanism. If you guys see more chapters come up pretty regularly now, it's because I need a way to deal with all these thoughts.

I just want to say thank you for everything so far and that I am really enjoying writing this. I've had such a bad time with stories in the past that I was so afraid to start writing again but seeing people check this out has made me want to keep writing. If it's not too much, please leave a review and let me know what you think because i'm being honest when I say seeing people's reactions is the best part of my day and really keeps me going, because not much else does half the time. Same with follows and favorites. All of you mean so much to me.

Thank you for everything, and I look forward to putting out the next chapter. Love you all :)

-Ali


	12. All is Found

Later on, Daryl and Isabelle had left the safe zone to head off into the forest, finding an area where they could camp out for the time being. Isabelle had brought a pair of binoculars, often watching the walkers that came through the bushes to see if there were any movements.

For a while, they didn't see much, so it was a comfortable silence between the two. But after a bit, Isabelle puts them down and looks over at him.

"Do you think we'll actually win this war?" she asks softly, turning to him. "I can't go back to Beta…I can't go through that again."

His brow furrows. "Course we will…gotta have faith and shit. Ain't that what got ya through all that shit back then?"

She sighs and glances back at the ground. "I had faith. Faith in myself…but faith in the world? That's long gone."

Daryl looks back at her before gently taking her hand in his. She looks up at him. "Ya gotta trust me…even if they did beat us, I ain't lettin' 'em go down without a fight. Ya hear? Yer stayin' with me, and Beta ain't gonna do shit about it."

Isabelle smiles gently before opening her mouth. But before she could, she suddenly heard a snap and glanced back into the binoculars. Suddenly, she stands up and gestures for Daryl to stand too.

"The walkers…they're moving in different patterns," she whispers, looking to him. "I think a Whisperer is leading them."

Daryl grabs his binoculars and looks into them, trying to look out. At further inspection, he could see that there were definitely some strange patterns in the smaller herd that looked like it could be lead by people, so she was on to something.

But as soon as he took the binoculars down to speak to her, he saw that she was gone; just gone.

"Isabelle?!" he calls out, instantly starting to go into panic mode. He could see that some of the walkers had heard him, but he didn't care. His mind was solely focused on trying to find her. He looks down at the ground and sees track marks embedded into the dirt of her shoes, so he follows them quickly.

As he heads down, he could finally see her, leaning against a tree and watching as the herd disappeared into the sight behind the treeline. The few walkers they had stumbled towards them and fell as soon as she plunged her knife into their heads.

Once they were done, Daryl suddenly turns her around and glares at her angrily. "The fuck was that?! We were supposed to stay together!"

She stumbles for words, and Daryl could instantly tell she hadn't been expecting his angry reaction. Honestly, he hadn't been expecting it either.

He didn't know what it was about this damn girl that made him so protective of her. Was it because he found her? That she was alone? That she seemed too innocent to the world and yet had experienced the most hardships probably out of almost anyone he knew? He had no fucking clue. All he knew was that he wanted to keep her safe, and her running off like that had scared the living shit out of him.

Daryl sighs and then places his hands on her shoulders. "'m sorry for yellin'." She closes her mouth at that, looking up at him with a furrowed brow. "I just didn't like ya runnin' off like that…that kinda shit doesn't fly with me and I need ya to listen to me, like we planned. I don't like getting scared, and ya scared me."

"I'm sorry," she mumbles, glancing away.

"Just don't do it again." He looks over at her and then nudges her shoulder. "Why did ya run off anyway?"

She looks up at him and then pulls something out of her bag. When it was revealed, he could see it was the mask of a Whisperer.

"I saw him pull it out," she states softly. "The man who was leading them. He took off his mask and headed in a different direction once the herd was heading that way, so I ran over and grabbed it before he could come back. I have a feeling he was leading them towards the forest, and wherever the end of that forest is, those walkers are going to fall into the pit of the larger herd, where they're keeping them. From there, we can really see how big the herd has gotten, and figure out our next steps."

Daryl nods his head, smiling a bit at her explanation. "Good shit…think we can do this." He looks over at her. "Still don't fuckin' run off without me again."

She nods her head. "I won't. I promise."

Daryl nods and looks ahead, before gesturing towards the forest. "Then let's head into the woods." He walks forward, holding his bow, and she stays behind, holding hers as well.

**_~%~_**

Night fell quicker than either of them could imagine, but once it did, they made sure to set up camp where they couldn't be found. They hadn't found the end of the forest yet, but Daryl had a feeling they were getting closer.

Halfway through the night, Isabelle had woken up and said she wanted to take a shift in watch. Daryl, who was honestly fucking exhausted at that point, had agreed to rest his eyes.

Everything worked out well for the most part until about halfway through his sleep, when he was woken up by a loud and terrifying scream of pain.

He instantly stands and grabs his knives, backpack, and bow, looking around for Isabelle. But she was nowhere to be seen. He was starting to get flashbacks to when she ran off earlier, but he knew she didn't willingly leave. She wouldn't do that after promising him. So what the fuck happened?!

"Isabelle!?" he calls out, heading through the woods. Walkers came at him from left and right, but he easily took them out with a few stabs. It was when he was getting closer to the cries that they started to multiply.

He heads a different direction when more of them started to come, and stumbles his way through the trees. His yells of "Isabelle!" were almost left to the quietness of the night and the subtle growl of the walkers in the distance. He was starting to lose hope when the cries stopped, and all he heard was nothing.

For the first time in forever, he actually felt his eyes get teary. There was no way she was dead. She couldn't be dead.

And then, he heard a soft voice, call out weakly, "…Daryl?"

He feels his heart give out and walks towards the voice. "Belle, speak to me, keep talkin'!" he whispers. "Hum somethin'!"

She starts to hum something that sounded like a lullaby, and he follows the sound until he finally finds her. Except…it was not how he wanted to.

She was on the ground, clutching her leg that looked like it had been split open with some wire. There was blood pooling at the bottom of her feet, and her cheeks had gone pale. Daryl cursed and sunk to his knees. "What the hell happened?" he whispers, suddenly feeling panic take over the hope he had only seconds ago.

Isabelle swallows and leans her head back against a tree. "I…I was on watch…and walkers started to come to our camp, too many to take...take out at once…I lured them away and killed them, but then more came from behind…and then more…and then more…I had no choice but to run…and it's dark, and they…someone set up this…trip wire…it wasn't a bomb but it was sharp...enough to…fuck…"

He could see the tears that were streaming down her face. Daryl places his hand gently on her forehead and could feel it was warm. "We gotta get ya somewhere," he mumbles. He suddenly rips off a part of his shirt and wraps it around her bleeding leg, causing her to cry out in pain. "It ain't the best but it'll stop the bleedin' for now."

"Daryl…I don't feel so good…"

Daryl curses and then looks over at her. "Isabelle, look at me. Just keep lookin' at me." The sound of walkers continues to grow, and he knew it was only a matter of time before they needed to get the fuck out of there. "Yer gonna be okay. Just keep lookin' at me."

He suddenly puts his bag and crossbow on his back, before lifting her up into his arms bridal style, wrapping her hands around his neck to hold on. She cringes in pain but tries to hold in a cry. Daryl looks around and then silently moves through the trees, trying to find a safe place.

He could feel her drifting in and out, but he kept jolting her a little to make sure she stayed awake. "Just keep lookin' at me, Isabelle…keep lookin' at me."

She quietly looks up and then speaks. "…Daryl?" He glances at her. "…I wanna go to Hogwarts." Her voice was slurred.

Daryl snorts at the statement, almost making him laugh, but this wasn't the time. "Yer fuckin' knockin' at death's door and all ya can say is that?"

"…mhmm."

Daryl shakes his head. "Yer somethin' else." He looks down at her and pulls her closer when she shivers. "It's gonna be okay…yer gonna be okay…"

And that was all he could say as they kept walking and walking, deeper and deeper into the unknown.

**_~%~_**

It took him another half hour to find an abandoned house in the massive forest, but once he did, he brought Isabelle in and gently laid her on a couch that had seen better days.

She cringes in pain, letting her head fall back against the dusty and decrepit pillow that was there. Daryl reaches into his bag, silently thanking his instincts for bringing one of the medical kits with them. He turns to her and then unwraps the shirt. She closes her eyes, trying not to yell.

"I'm gonna try and make this painless, okay?" he says to her gently.

She swallows and nods. He reaches inside and pulls out a syringe with a minor dose of Lidocaine – Siddiq had made sure to put this in every medical kit just in case they did have a situation where someone needed help. Daryl gently puts it into her skin, pushing the drug into her leg.

After that, once she nods that it was becoming numb, he cleans out the wound with some rubbing alcohol, before moving to stitches. As he stitches her up, he could see her crying from her seat. "Why are ya cryin'?" he asks her quietly. "I thought the drug-"

"It did." She glances outside. "I just feel like whenever I try to help, there's always something that is stopping me from helping fully, or I always fuck up somewhere…I feel like I'm such a waste."

"Belle, ya tripped on some wire in the dark trying to lure walkers away. That shit's happened to everyone." The face she gives him makes him rework his words. "Damn it, ya know what I mean. We've all had stupid shit happen to us when we were tryin' to help…take, uh…Sophia, for example. 'member me tellin' you about her?"

Isabelle nods. "She was Carol's daughter."

"Yeah, she was. I was lookin' for her one day, got held up by some walkers, tripped down a damn gorge and fell on one of my arrows. Pierced my back. Then, when I finally managed to dig my ass outta there, I got grazed on the head because I had so much muck and blood on me, my own group thought I was a walker."

Isabelle's brow raises. "That's scary. Who shot you?"

Daryl shakes his head. "Name was Andrea. She was a fuck-up…but she was a good member at the same time. Lost her to the Governor." He sighs and shakes his head. "Crazy how that was so fuckin' long ago…feels like yesterday sometimes."

He pulls back once the stitches are done and then gently places her leg on the couch. They weren't perfect, but they would do for the time being. She looks up at him and only then does he realize she had some blood on her face from cuts from falling. He grabs his clothe and wipes at it, sitting next to her.

"Once the drug wears off, it's gonna hurt like a bitch. We're gonna have to wait a couple of days to get back. Can't carry ya the whole way."

Her brow raises. "What, like I'm heavy?"

He snorts. "Trust me, ya ain't. I just don't wanna risk rippin' yer stitches this early." He glances outside and stands. "Get some sleep, I'll take watch."

As he stands to go outside, her soft voice calls out to him. "Daryl?" He looks over. "I know this is a major inconvenience…but thank you for taking care of me."

Daryl nods quietly, heading outside. Once he did, he pulls out a cigarette and takes a long drag, leaning his head against the wall. His mind was playing tricks on him. It had to be. He needed to focus on the major picture and make sure they were okay and that they could make it back to the zone.

Lydia. Damn, they should have brought her. She would have helped them. And now she's gonna be worried. The whole zone is.

But as he looked back into the room, and saw Isabelle settling down, he felt a few his worries slip away. Maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought.

**_~%~_**

He had to admit that around three-quarters of the night, he wasn't expecting to hear any more crying. But then he did. It was soft, barely there, but he could hear the sniffles coming from inside. So, he gently heads back in, dragging a chair to stop the door from being opened, and walks over to the couch.

Isabelle was facing the opposite way, but he could see her body shaking. "Belle?" he mutters softly.

She sniffles and then turns her head to look at him. "I'm sorry…the pain's back. It just hurts…hard to fall asleep again…"

Daryl nods quietly before moving next to her. "Anythin' I can do?"

"Daryl, you've done enough." She sighs and tries to move but curses at the pain, before sloppily letting her body fall back against the couch. "I feel so useless. I feel like a rag doll."

Daryl chuckles a bit. "It sucks…you'll get better though." He looks over at her and then clears his throat, leaning back against the couch. "That song ya were hummin'…when I was tryin' to find ya…that help ya sleep?"

A soft smile comes across her cheeks, almost reminiscent. "That lullaby has been a song that has passed down my family for generations…my brothers sang it to me, and my father sang it for them before…you know…if I ever have kids, I'll sing it to them…it did always help me fall asleep."

"Ya wanna sing it to me?"

Her brow furrows and she looks over at him in surprise. "You want me to sing to you?"

Daryl sighs. "Not like that…I mean, if ya sing it to me, might make ya wanna sleep or somethin'."

Isabelle glances at the ground before nodding, and her soft voice began to come through the empty shack.

"_Where the north wind meets the sea, there's a river full of memory…sleep, my darling, safe and sound…for in this river, all is found."_

Daryl didn't listen to music that often nowadays, but he had to admit he would listen to her voice for years. It was perfect for this kind of song. He even felt himself drift a bit.

"_In her waters, deep and true, lie the answers and a path for you. Dive down deep into her sound…but not too far, or you'll be drowned."_

He glances down at her, and could see her eyes closing. But she still sang.

"_Yes, she will sing to those who hear…and in her song, all magic flows. But can you brave what you most fear…can you face what the river knows."_

She moves slightly, only to rest her head against the pillow.

"_Where the north wind meets the sea…there's a mother full of memory. Come, my darling, homeward bound. When all is lost…then all is found." _

Isabelle glances up at him and then made herself hold in a laugh.

Daryl himself had fallen asleep to her singing.

He deserved it after the night they had. She gently moves her head and rests it against his shoulder, smiling a little.

"Sleep well, Dixon," she mumbles, before closing her own eyes.

**_~%~_**

Both were woken up the next morning by a loud rumble.

Daryl was the first to move. After realizing he had fallen asleep against her the night before, he gently moves her to the side and gets up, ignoring the blush that rose to his cheeks. He glances outside and curses, before opening the door and pointing his weapon at the man coming closer.

"Whoa, man-"

"Get outta here!" Daryl snaps, not making room for any argument.

"I was just looking for supplies-"

"I said get the fuck outta here or else ya ain't gonna be able to!" he growls.

Isabelle at that moment wakes up and calls out to him from her groggy state. "Daryl, calm down. He hasn't done anything."

"We can't trust anyone," he growls.

The man swallows and glances inside. "She's hurt…I can take you somewhere to wherever home is. I got a car. Please…don't hurt me. I'm just tryin' to live."

Daryl glares at him and then looks over at Isabelle. She was quiet. "Wait there," he snarls before going back to Isabelle. "He's got a car," he whispers to her. "I don't think we can trust 'im."

"Daryl, what choice do we have?" she asks softly. "We're stranded out here because of me and you can't carry me back…we need this car if we wanna get home."

Daryl looks over at her and then back at the man before sighing. "Fine." He gets up and grabs his bow. "I ain't killing you yet. Ya drive us back to where we need to go, I'll let ya live. She's gotta get home."

The man nods, clearly relieved. "Of course."

Daryl nods and heads back inside, grabbing his bag and then picking up Isabelle. She glances up at him and pulls at his vest. He looks down at her. "If he tries anything…we kill him."

He nods at her words. "Took 'em out of my mouth."

* * *

**yes, that is a frozen song and yes i do still love Elsa with my whole heart. but it describes Isabelle so :p**

**thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing and following and favoriting. im not going to lie, ive been thinking of stopping due to low reviews but i realized i do have followers and such and i want to keep writing for you :) just let me know what you guys think because your reviews and follows and favorites always make me so happy. :)**

**thank you for reading and i hope you have a great day :)**


	13. Realizations

**What's up ya'll? Been a minute. If you haven't noticed I didn't update this story for a while because I wanted to wait until walking dead came back to keep it going, but I'm excited to put out these chapters again and look forward to what ya'll think! Thank you to: **

_**DarylDixon'sLover**_

_**celia azul**_

_**A Panting**_

**Your reviews were awesome to read and made me want to keep writing, and welcome to the new follows/favorites as well. Here we go!**

* * *

When they got back to the safe zone, Daryl almost didn't want to wake up Isabelle. On the way back in this stranger's car, she had fallen asleep against him, something she had barely been able to do the night before due to the pain. But even so, his nerves were still on edge and pointing a weapon at the man's head.

He sighs and looks over at him. "Please, man. I was just tryin-"

"I don't care what ya were tryin' to do. Don't move. Drive up to the gate." The man sighs and does that. One of the guards looks down and Daryl pokes his head out, nodding at him.

They open the gate and the stranger drives inside. Daryl heads out first, gently shaking Isabelle. Her eyes flutter open and she sleepily looks at him. "Are we at Hogwarts yet?" she mumbles.

Daryl snorts. "Don't think so. C'mon." He lifts her up into his arms and looks over as Beth runs to him. Her brow furrowed in worry.

"What the hell happened to her?" she whispers in shock.

"She got tripped up, split her leg open. Had to take shelter. This guy stumbled on us, made him drive us back." Looking back at the stranger, he could see most of the people were aiming weapons at him. He wasn't moving a muscle. Daryl turns back to look at Beth, who had a sullen look on her face. "What's wrong?"

She sighs. "You've missed a lot, Daryl."

His brow furrows. "We ain't been gone long. What the hell happened?"

"Siddiq is dead. Dante killed him. He's a Whisperer."

"The fuck?" Daryl whispers in shock.

Beth sighs and looks over at the stranger. "We should have him taken in somewhere, keep him under lock and key while we look at Isabelle." Beth snaps. "Guards, watch after him. I'm going to look at Isabelle."

They nod and do not move, and the stranger stays put. Honestly, Daryl really should have asked for his name, but knowing who he almost killed wasn't the biggest thing on his brain at the time.

The two walk into the infirmary and Daryl gently lays Isabelle down. Beth gets a look at the cut and cringes before looking at Daryl. "Alright, the good news is that it doesn't look infected yet. The bad news is that now that Siddiq is gone and Dante is locked up…kinda hard to do surgery. But I'll try to fix her up as best I can."

Daryl's brow furrows. "Wait, tell me 'bout all this."

So she does. As Beth cleans out Isabelle's wound while she slept, she told them out Rosita had found Sidiqq as a walker, and had to kill him before he had killed Coco. Dante had tried to kill her in the process but she had stabbed him. Afterward, he revealed he was a Whisperer sent in by Alpha, completely unknown to Lydia and Isabelle – Alpha made sure of that. From there, he contaminated the water and got everyone sick. Even lured people in.

She tried to end them from the inside out for real. Literally.

"Fuck," Daryl whispers.

"Yeah," Beth mumbles as she finished wrapping up Isabelle's leg. "I just radioed Michonne and told her about it. She went to go Oceanside to help them with something. Even told Maggie about it at Hilltop. She's shocked too…I can't believe he slipped right under our fucking noses."

Daryl's brow raises. He was shocked to hear the blonde curse. Usually, she never did. That just shows how pissed she was.

"Ya know, he was my friend," Beth states, shaking her head as she plugged an IV into Isabelle's arm. "He was kind. Bit of a dick and conceited at times, but kind. And now to find out it was all just a ploy…and he killed someone else in the process…I feel fucking stupid."

"Hey, none of us saw it comin'," he says to her, squeezing her arm. "Now…we just got a whole shit ton of crap comin' our way. Gonna have to talk with 'im."

She sighs and nods, looking over at Isabelle. He looks at her as well.

"How is she? She gonna be okay?"

"You did a good job," Beth states, nodding. "She was in stable condition when you brought her, just very weak and dehydrated. She lost a good amount of blood, but because you closed the wound tight, she was able to survive. I'd say she stays here for a few days and rests up, let her leg heal a little while we pump some blood into her, and then she'll be good to go. She'll need to change bandages pretty regularly though. I'm sure you can help with that." Daryl nods quietly as Beth goes to head out. "I'm going to go tell her family you came back…they're all with the others trying to figure out what to do with Dante."

Daryl looks up at her. "They fitting in well?"

"Too well…almost like they were also supposed to be here," she chuckles, shaking her head. "Swear, they're always offering advice and willing to do shit. James especially. Always wants to help out."

Daryl raises an eyebrow at the blush that comes on her cheeks. "My fuckin' god, does Beth Greene have a crush?"

"Oh, you're one to talk," she snorts.

"The fuck does that mean?"

"You and Isabelle?"

He nearly jumps out of his seat. "I ain't got a fuckin' clue what yer talkin' 'bout. We're just friends. I care 'bout her, like I care 'bout the others."

Beth rolls her eyes. "Alright then, Dixon. I'll leave you two 'friends' alone." She squeezes his shoulder and heads out. Daryl shakes his head and sinks back into his chair, looking over at Isabelle's sleeping form.

He didn't have feelings. He was a Dixon. They didn't catch that shit. He knew better than to do that in this world. He had done so for ten years now, so he wasn't about to let that shit get to him.

He lets out a deep breath, and felt his head hit the back of his chair. Too much drama was happening, and all he wanted was to take a damn nap.

This was getting out of hand, but he needed to keep himself together, one way or another.

_**~%~**_

The next couple of days pass by without incident for them. Daryl was constantly talking with others about the water situation, and how they were changing it as quickly as they could. Aaron had mentioned going out there to try and talk with Gamma and get information, but after the Dante situation, most of the people were much less eager to trust strangers, especially a Whisperer.

Daryl included.

The stranger that had helped them had left. Daryl had basically tried to force him out, but Isabelle had implored him to give the man supplies, saying that "he could have killed us but he didn't. Give him at least a granola bar."

So Daryl did. The man had thanked him and revealed his name to be Maxwell, and thanked him for sparing his life. Daryl had just nodded at him and showed him out. But, in the end, Daryl had turned to him and said: "Thank ya."

The man nodded and left in his car. Daryl watched him go and wondered if he would come back. But for some reason, he had a feeling he wouldn't. He really as just trying to get home. Maybe he wasn't bad. And for once, Daryl made himself forget the bad thoughts and just move on. Not everyone was awful.

A couple days later, he found out Gabriel had killed Dante, and they had barely talked about it. But at the end of the day no one was really that upset about it. Daryl was more surprised that it had been the priest, of all people, who had done it, but he wasn't one to question the motives of people. Dante deserved to die, anyway.

Isabelle had ended up staying in the hospital for more than a couple days - just a week, but even then she still felt terrible for taking up space. Eventually, Daryl had brought her back to their house, helping her walk. Her leg still hurt like a bitch, but she could at least limp a bit now and was able to move it.

Lydia had been happy to see her again. The young teen had been visiting her in the infirmary every now and then when she had the time, but now that she was back in the house she was glad that she was okay. Daryl had helped Isabelle get upstairs to her room, and helped her sit down.

She groans in pain at the surge that shot through her leg before sighing. "I just had to be dumb, didn't I?" she mumbles.

Daryl shakes his head. "Stop it. Ya did what ya had to do. Shit happens." She sighs and glances over at the dresser, trying to hoist herself up, but the pain was too much in her leg. She groans in anger and flops down on the bed.

"Fuck, I can't even get dressed. I'm gonna die."

Even though she was joking – at least he thought she was – the idea still made him nervous. "Don't say that; yer gonna be fine." He looks over at her and then gently gestures towards the dresser. "Ya want a different shirt?"

"Please…just something comfy. Really big."

Daryl nods and grabs a shirt that was a little too big. Upon further inspection, he realized this was a shirt of his from a long time ago, but it was the only one that was big enough for her to be considering big, so he took it out.

He walks over and gives it to her, turning his eyes away while she changed into it. When she was done, he looks over at her and felt himself snort.

"What?!" she asks.

"The shirt's just huge on ya," he chuckles. She glares at him, and that only made him laugh more. She starts to laugh too as she lifts up the sleeves, revealing that they went past her arms. He shakes his head and stands, but then she reaches out and grabs his hand.

He turns to her and she's looking up at him with those big blue eyes, and her blonde hair falling into them. The shirt was practically laying on the bed, but fitting squarely over her shoulders - she looked so fucking innocent. How the hell had she survived for so long?

"Um…I was wondering if you could stay with me?" she asks softly.

His brow raises in shock. "Ya want me to stay?"

"I mean, like…not just on the floor, I mean, like – damn it, why is this so hard?" she grumbles to herself, running her hands through her hair. "I just feel…safer when I'm with you, despite all the shit that's happened lately…I want you to stay here, with me…I liked falling asleep like that a little while ago. It felt…nice. Maybe I'm just imagining shit, I don't know-"

"I liked it too," he adds in, causing her to quiet. She looks at him in surprise. "Don't know…felt nice," he mutters, glancing away, but even she could see the blush on his cheeks.

She smiles shyly. "Okay…then um…come join me," she states.

Daryl glances at the door that was open and then closes it gently, before getting into the bed. They don't go below the covers, but she snuggles in close to him and rests her forehead on his chest, her body going still within a couple of minutes. Her back rises with each breath she takes. Daryl takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, trying to push away thoughts.

But for some reason, they just wouldn't leave.

_**~%~**_

The next morning, Daryl wakes up before Isabelle. She was still sleeping soundly against his chest, barely have moved, but now was almost even closer. He feels his hand go against her back and gently rub, before feeling the bumps from her scars and cuts.

He felt himself grow angry, thinking of the fuckers who had done this to her, but then she sighs in her sleep and her mouth opens, letting out soft air. Her cheeks were that pale rosy pink he had grown accustomed to, and her hair had fallen into her eyes again.

He gently moves his hand to her face and brushes the hair behind her ear, before his thumb trailed on her cheek, gently stroking it. She leans into his hand in her sleep, her body close to his. And he felt himself smile genuinely for the first time in a long time.

And then that disappeared within seconds when he realized what was happening. He almost moves quickly, but then gently moves her away, trying not to wake her. Daryl then gets up and leaves the room, before going to the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

He leans against the door and closes his eyes, whispering "fuck" in the lowest way possible. And then repeated that over and over.

Beth was right. He had feelings for Isabelle. And there was nothing fucking else he could do about it.

Fuck.

* * *

**boom. mic drop. **

**I'm glad to come back to this story with a big reveal and I look forward to hearing what ya'll think about it! On another note, if any of you are into Game of Thrones and feel personally victimized by D&D from the last season, check out a story I've been writing called 'The Darkness of Day.' It's a fix-it fit featuring our lovely dragon queen and king, and if that sounds interesting head on over and check it out!**

**Other than that one announcement, look for more chapters coming soon for this, and I look forward to writing more. Thank you for reading and don't forget to review and let me know what you think, as they always keep me going. Follow and favorite if you want to join us on our walker-killer adventure. And I hope ya'll have a great day! Love ya :)**


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